Siena Nearly Plays All 5 Starters for Entire Duke March Madness Game, Narrowly Misses Historic Feat

Siena built a stunning 11-point lead over top-seeded Duke in Thursday's NCAA men's tournament first round game.

But it couldn't maintain its advantage in the second half as fatigue may have set in while the Blue Devils' talent finally took over. Perhaps making a substitute would have helped in crunch time.

After all, Siena nearly became the first team since the 1979 DePaul Blue Demons to play an entire NCAA men's tournament game without making a single substitute until it did so in the final minute. Starters Francis Folefac, Brendan Coyle, Riley Mulvey, Gavin Doty and Justice Shoats remained on the floor for almost the entire 40 minutes.

Unfortunately for those starters, the Blue Devils outscored them by 17 points in the second half to clinch the 71-65 victory and advance to the second round.

Relying on a short rotation is nothing new for Siena.

After all, it played just six players during the MAAC championship game victory over Merrimack. Christian Jones was the one sub in that game and was on the court for just six minutes.

Folefac and Mulvey played all 40 minutes in that one as well.

Jones was once again the singular substitute for the Saints in Thursday's contest, and he didn't even see the floor until the closing seconds when it was clear the Blue Devils were going to win. At least he got to step on the court during an NCAA tournament game, but it was in a losing effort.

Still, Siena deserves plenty of credit.

Duke was the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and had star player Cameron Boozer leading the way. Most fans surely expected a dominant Blue Devils win, but the game came down to the final minute.

The Saints didn't back down from Duke's physicality, hit timely three-pointers and had plenty of momentum for extended stretches of the game. Ultimately, Boozer was too much to handle, and the future NBA draft pick finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Duke also enjoyed a 43-31 advantage on the boards and controlled the glass in crunch time when the game was hanging in the balance.

Despite the losing effort and lack of depth, Siena still played well and nearly pulled off a shocking upset.