Charlotte, N.C. (AP) – Robert Morris kept fighting, even if top-seeded Duke wasn't about to let the Colonials make history.
The 16th-seeded Colonials hung in while the Blue Devils made every shot to start the game, and then fought back to twice get within 10 points midway through the second half. But Duke pulled away to an 85-56 win Friday night in the NCAA Tournament's round of 64.
For coach
Andrew Toole, it was a teachable moment.
"What I tried to explain to them (afterward) was one of the reasons that we push so hard and we demand so much and hold you to such a high standard is because these are the games that we want to compete in," he said. "These are the games we want to be in and we want to play better than we played tonight."
The Colonials regrouped from Duke's opening flurry and ran off a 10-0 run to get to 54-44 on
Rodney Pryor's layup with 12:26 left, seizing a glimmer of hope for their boisterous fans. But Duke soon ran off a 12-0 run, restoring order on the way to a routine 1-vs-16 finish.
A No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed.
"They had the home crowd advantage, but the energy in the building just gives both teams energy, I believe," Pryor said, "We tried our best to feed off their energy, stay poised, stay calm and things like that. It was fun playing out there."
Quinn Cook scored 22 points while freshman Jahlil Okafor added 21 as the Blue Devils (30-4) wasted little time getting their offense revving.
That's not to say everything went smoothly for Duke, a team with half of its eight scholarship players making its tournament debut. Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski furiously burned a timeout after Okafor blew a reverse dunk, while Robert Morris -- which had to win a First Four game to get here -- showed plenty of fight and kept hanging around for the first part of the second half.
Duke shot 63 percent in the program's 100th NCAA Tournament victory.
More importantly, Duke got off to a good start in the tournament after a pair of shocking one-and-done exits in the previous three seasons, both coming in its home state of North Carolina.
Cook made 8-of-12 shots, including a 6-for-10 performance from behind the arc.
Pryor scored 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting for Robert Morris, the Northeast Conference champions who were appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time.
Tip-Ins: Robert Morris:
Marcquise Reed scored 22 points …
Lucky Jones managed a personal first-half highlight, dropping down in the paint to swat away Okafor's layup … Robert Morris shot 36 percent ... Duke: Cook hit six 3-pointers … Okafor went 9-for-11 in 21 minutes … Duke improved to 33-6 in its home state in the NCAA Tournament and 46-9 as a No. 1 seed … The Blue Devils made 10-of-21 three-pointers.
Notes: Senior forward
Lucky Jones concluded his Robert Morris career with totals of 1,632 points and 846 rebounds. He ranks fourth all-time in school history in points and is the program's all-time leading rebounder … Freshman guard
Marcquise Reed established RMU freshman records for points (529), field goals (197), double-figure scoring games (26) and 20-point scoring games (11) … Pryor finished 3-for-6 from beyond the arc against the Blue Devils and finished the year with 81 three-pointers, which ranks eighth all-time in the Robert Morris single-season record book … Pryor is the sixth different member of the Colonials to hit at least 80 three-pointers in the last 13 years … Sophomore guard
Kavon Stewart finished with six assists against just one turnover and concluded the year with 156 dimes, which ranks seventh in a single season ... Pryor concluded the year reaching double figures in scoring in each of RMU's last 10 games, averaging 20.4 points per contest over that span.
Stat Of The Night: 67 – Points scored by freshman guard
Marcquise Reed in three games against members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) this season after finishing with 22 against Duke.
