Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Seth Curry scored 26 points and Mason
Plumlee contributed 23 with eight rebounds, as Duke fended off a scrappy
Albany squad with a 73-61 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ryan Kelly added eight points and six boards for Duke (28-5), which is making
its 18th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Devils, seeded second
in the Midwest Region, will play the winner between Cincinnati and Creighton
in the third round Sunday.
Last year's tourney run was a short one for the Blue Devils, who lost their
opener as a No. 2 seed to Patriot League champ Lehigh. There was no big upset
this year, although the America East champs did manage to make it interesting.
The Great Danes trailed by as many as 16 in the second half, but were within
64-56 and nearly had a chance to trim the deficit further after Duke's Quinn
Cook missed a jumper with just over four minutes to play. However, Albany
could not come up with the rebound and Curry found the loose ball in the lane
with a clear trip to the basket for a layup that restored a 10-point margin.
Kelly then came up with a steal that led to a Curry jumper and Albany didn't
get closer than nine from there.
Jacob Iati scored 15 points and Peter Hooley added 13 with eight rebounds and
five assists for Albany (24-11), which was making its third NCAA Tournament
appearance and first since back-to-back trips in 2006 and 2007.
The Sports Network