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LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) -- April in Minneapolis was a long way from
November in Maui.
|  | | Jason Williams showed Maui why he's the early favorite for Player of the Year honors. |
Top-ranked Duke opened defense of the national championship it
won seven months ago in a much different climate with an 80-79
victory over Seton Hall in the opening round of the Maui
Invitational.
In a game that wasn't decided until Jason Williams stole the
ball as the buzzer sounded, the Blue Devils avoided being the
second major upset in as many games in the Lahaina Civic Center.
"Right now there is nothing comparable about this team and last
year's and we don't worry about that," Duke junior guard Mike
Dunleavy said of the team that lost national player of the year
Shane Battier. "We got there last year through six, seven months
of hard work and right now everyone can tell we have a few things
to work on."
At least the Blue Devils moved on to Tuesday's semifinals
against South Carolina, which beat Chaminade 74-61.
Earlier Monday, Ball State beat Kansas (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today, No. 4 AP) 93-91.
"Not a bad first day, huh?" Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
It was a lot better for him after Williams made one of two free
throws with 7.1 seconds to play, then stole the ball as the buzzer
sounded.
Williams, a preseason All-American, scored 21 of his 27 points
in the second half and the Blue Devils won their season opener
under Krzyzewski for the 20th time in 22 seasons.
"When Jason missed that first free throw, that's not easy to
come back there and then the defense at the end was terrific,"
Krzyzewski said.
Seton Hall (1-1) led by 10 points late in the first half. The
Pirates, under first-year coach Louis Orr, refused to wilt even
when Duke began to hit 3-pointers in the second half after going
1-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
John Allen's three-point play with 2:20 left gave Seton Hall a
79-76 lead. Freshman Daniel Ewing scored on a drive with 1:24 left
to get the Blue Devils within one.
Duke tied it with 1:05 left when Dunleavy made one of two free
throws.
Allen missed a 3 with 36 seconds left and Duke worked the ball
around on its last possession.
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Future fields
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The announced fields for the next three Maui Invitational tournaments hosted by Chaminade, the NCAA Division II school from Honolulu:
2002: Arizona State, Gonzaga, Indiana,
Kentucky, Massachusetts, Utah, Virginia.
2003: California, Dayton, Florida State,
Hawaii, Ohio State, San Diego State, Villanova.
2004*: Iowa,
Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Stanford.
*subject to change pending NCAA
legislation regarding early season tournaments
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Williams drove the lane and Greg Morton was called for a
blocking foul with 7.1 seconds left, a call that had Orr up and
screaming.
"I thought it was a charge, but the referee called it a
block," said Orr, who went right to the tournament director to
complain about the call when the game ended.
The Blue Devils had made just 12 of 22 free throws in the second
half before Williams went to the line. He missed the first, but
made the second.
Seton Hall's final chance ended when Williams stole Ty Shine's
pass toward the corner as the buzzer sounded.
"Ewing did a great job of keeping the ball away from Andre
Barrett and Jason came up with a great anticipation play,"
Krzyzewski said.
Dunleavy had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Duke, which finished
8-for-26 from 3-point range and 20-for-36 from the free throw line.
"We didn't look like a real good team in the first half and
Seton Hall made us look worse," Krzyzewski said.
Williams credited Seton Hall for Duke's first-half troubles.
"I had shots I usually make but they weren't falling down," he
said. "We were out of synch in the first half because we were
thrown back by Seton Hall."
Senior forward Charles Manga had a career-high 14 points and
also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pirates, while Barrett and Desmond
Herod each had 12 points.
"It was a great effort by our guys," Orr said. "Any time you
play against a team like Duke you just want a chance to win. We
were there."
Raheem Carter's 3-pointer with 2:01 left in the half started an
8-0 run that gave the Pirates a 37-27 lead, their biggest of the
opening 20 minutes.
Williams made an acrobatic three-point play with 6.3 seconds
left to make it 37-30 and Seton Hall had a chance to get the lead
back to nine but Barrett missed a driving layup at the buzzer.
Duke is now 7-0 in the Maui Invitational, having won the
tournament in 1992 and 1997.
Duke guard Chris Duhon missed most of the final five minutes
because of severe cramping, something that bothered a number of
players as temperatures outside the Lahaina Civic Center were in
the mid-80s.
Krzyzewski said Duhon was taken to a hospital for treatment and
that he hoped the sophomore guard would be available Tuesday.
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Seton Hall vs. Duke
Close Call