COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : EAST REGIONAL : Tiny Campbell Finds Duke, the Moment Overwhelming

The moment overwhelmed Coach Billy Lee, much like the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils would eventually and inevitably overwhelm his Campbell University team, 82-56, in Thursday night’s NCAA East Regional game.

But before the rout began, before Duke flirted with a 30-point lead and before Blue Devil Coach Mike Krzyzewski kindly cleared his bench in the final five minutes, Lee found himself reaching for a handkerchief. Standing on the Greensboro Coliseum court during the Camels’ pregame warmup, Lee realized just how far removed he was from his many years as a prep coach at New Bern or East Montgomery high schools in North Carolina, or as a rookie college coach at NAIA member Pembroke State University.

“When I walked on the floor tonight, I had tears in my eyes,” Lee said. “I just hope people didn’t see them.”

Lee brushed away the tears in time to shake hands with Krzyzewski moments before tipoff. It was then that the Duke coach said: “Congratulations on being here.”

Lee nearly popped a button on his double-breasted suit.

“I’m just a little shaver trying to make it with the big boys,” Lee said. “For him to say that meant a lot.”

Of course, politeness only goes so far. Duke (29-2) has a second consecutive national championship to try to win, which is why the Blue Devils took little mercy on Campbell, which was seeded 16th and, according to one oddsmaker, considered trillion-to-one shots to win its first NCAA tournament appearance.

Predictably enough, Campbell was no match for Duke. The Blue Devils were taller, deeper and more athletic than the Camels, who qualified for the NCAA tournament by winning the little-regarded Big South Conference tournament. If Duke was impressed, it didn’t show it.

Blue Devil swingman Thomas Hill had 14 points by halftime, only two fewer than Campbell. The stunned Camels shot only 18% from the field (six for 32) and committed 14 turnovers. No wonder Duke led by 20 points.

“Did they have seven guys out there?” Lee asked later.

Even before the game began, it was obvious which team was ranked No. 1 and which was given trillion-to-one odds of winning. No matter how hard they tried, the Camels couldn’t help but steal glances at Duke players jogging onto the court for pregame warmups.

Laettner earned the most looks. At 6 feet 11, the All-America center was five inches taller than any Camel starter. Laettner, who has a bit of nasty streak in him, ignored their stares.

If nothing else, the Camels enjoyed the moment. During their warmup drills they smiled and pointed nervously at the crowd as it rose to its feet to greet the underdogs. And when the Campbell mascot--a costumed camel that put Duke’s Blue Devil to shame--arrived on the court, several players ran over to execute hand-to-paw high-fives.

Things were different when the teams assembled for the opening tipoff.

“I was definitely nervous,” Campbell forward Mark Mocnik said. “When they came running out and everyone in the crowd started standing we were thinking, ‘Uh, oh, here comes Duke.’ ”

Duke came. It saw. It conquered. But believe it or not, the Blue Devils were challenged on occasion, especially during the second half, when the Camels quit acting like awe-struck newcomers.

After being down, 44-18, with 17:42 to play, Campbell cut the Duke lead to 44-26. Later, after the Blue Devils had built a 56-31 advantage, the Camels whittled away to 62-45 with 8:34 to play.

“They made some shots . . . that we just started laughing (at), they were so far out,” Duke forward Brian Davis said.

But don’t mistake laughter for disrespect. When the game was finished, Davis was the first player to hug Mocnik, who finished with 29 points (21 in the second half) and 10 rebounds.

“We’re a good group of guys,” Davis said. “We understand that it’s tough your first time here.”

Davis wasn’t the only one to congratulate the Camels, who finished the season 19-12. Laettner sought out 6-6 sophomore forward Joe Spinks, whose job it was to guard the Blue Devil center. And Krzyzewski went out of his way to compliment the Camels in the postgame news conference.

“I think they might have to put a stoplight there,” said Krzyzewski, referring to Buies Creek, N.C., rural home of the Campbell campus.

Not wanting the experience to end, Mocnik, still in uniform, lingered in a Coliseum hallway 30 minutes after the loss. At last, a team trainer shooed him toward the Campbell locker room.

“Coming in, I’m sure (Duke) thought Campbell would be an easy win,” Mocnik said before ducking into the shower. “I hope that they left thinking, ‘Hey, they’re scrappers and they played hard.’ ”

Seton Hall 78, La Salle 76--Pirate guard Terry Dehere made an 18-foot baseline jump shot with two seconds remaining for the victory.

No. 4-seeded Seton Hall trailed La Salle, the 13th-seeded team, 70-62, with four minutes to play. Then Dehere made a three-pointer. John Leahy, a three-point specialist, hit two of them, cutting the La Salle (20-11) lead to 74-71 with 2:38 remaining.

Dehere’s game-winner came when Seton Hall began a series with 46 seconds to play. The Pirates (22-8) whittled the timer to about 10 seconds before working the ball to Dehere, who had come free off a screen set by teammate Gordon Winchester.

Iowa 98, Texas 92--Acie Earl scored 25 points and James Moses added 22 points and 16 rebounds as the Hawkeyes defeated the Longhorns.

Iowa, which shot 71.4% in the second half and 59.1% overall, will play No. 1-ranked Duke Saturday.