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It was a rough start to the NCAA Tournament for Isaiah Evans, but his strong second-half performance saved Duke's season as he led the Blue Devils to a 71-65 win over the Siena Saints.
Evans, like a number of other Blue Devils, began the game unable to take advantage of the openings in the opposing defense. Siena built their defensive strategy around stopping Duke star Cameron Boozer, and it led them to an 11-point first-half lead, the largest ever by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed.
With all of the attention on collapsing the middle of the court to slow down Boozer, the rest of the Blue Devils were encouraged nearly every trip down to court to attempt a shot from three-point range. With Caleb Foster continuing to recover from a fractured foot and the defense focused on Boozer, Duke had to look outside their top two shooting threats for three-point production. Evans, as the team's volume shooter, was the obvious choice, but struggled to begin the game.
Taking five shots, all from three, Evans managed only one made shot in the first half. The Blue Devils' deficit at halftime was certainly not on him alone, but he was a factor, and he took ownership of it after the game.
"I think that first half falls on me," Evans said postgame. "I let Doty get a couple easy shots. I'm falling on the ground, I'm not getting rebounds. And, you know, you just give a team confidence, and they become a whole different team. I'm not saying that they weren't a good team. We gave them a lot of confidence early, and I feel like a lot of that fell on me.
Entering the second half, it was clear Duke was in need of someone to step up. Cameron Boozer was, to a degree, contained but still managed 13 of the team's 32 points. As a team, the Blue Devils were just 2-for-15 from three, allowing the Saints to continue their defensive focus on Boozer and making a comeback difficult without another consistent source of offense.
As the second half began, the Blue Devils showed renewed passion defensively, while Evans got the scoring going with an impressive poster dunk on Siena's Riley Mulvey.
That dunk not only signaled the start of a new half for Duke, but of a new game for Evans. The Blue Devils, as a team, showed renewed fire defensively while Evans pushed the pace, willing his way to the basket and playing freely, clearly unburdened by his first-half struggles.
Evans' first bucket of the second half got the ball rolling for Duke offensively, but it was his second that began the comeback. Securing the defensive rebound off a missed dunk by Siena forward Francis Folefac, Evans pushed the ball from end to end, finishing with a dunk in transition. It was that bucket that began a key 11-0 run by the Blue Devils, bringing the game back within a single possession.
"I think we had to lock in our rebounding," Evans said of the team's 11-0 run in the second half. "We knew that, once we get stops, we can run. I knew once we see it, instead of just saying it, we just fall into line with everything we're trying to do."
Evans had a double-double in the game, adding 10 rebounds — seven in the second half — to his 16 points. His commitment not only to scoring but also to rebounding and defending at a high level was crucial to the team's second-half effort.
From the Boozer brothers to Head Coach Jon Scheyer to Dame Sarr, who set the tone defensively, there are a number of Blue Devils who deserve credit for the comeback, but Evans put the team on his back in this win. Taking ownership of his first-half failures and overcoming that adversity shows tremendous maturity and leadership ability, and it's those traits that saved Duke from an embarrassing first-round exit.
Follow us @DukeWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Duke Blue Devils news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Isaiah Evans overcomes early struggles, saves Duke from 1st round exit
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Evans, like a number of other Blue Devils, began the game unable to take advantage of the openings in the opposing defense. Siena built their defensive strategy around stopping Duke star Cameron Boozer, and it led them to an 11-point first-half lead, the largest ever by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed.
With all of the attention on collapsing the middle of the court to slow down Boozer, the rest of the Blue Devils were encouraged nearly every trip down to court to attempt a shot from three-point range. With Caleb Foster continuing to recover from a fractured foot and the defense focused on Boozer, Duke had to look outside their top two shooting threats for three-point production. Evans, as the team's volume shooter, was the obvious choice, but struggled to begin the game.
Isaiah Evans owns up to first-half struggles
Taking five shots, all from three, Evans managed only one made shot in the first half. The Blue Devils' deficit at halftime was certainly not on him alone, but he was a factor, and he took ownership of it after the game.
"I think that first half falls on me," Evans said postgame. "I let Doty get a couple easy shots. I'm falling on the ground, I'm not getting rebounds. And, you know, you just give a team confidence, and they become a whole different team. I'm not saying that they weren't a good team. We gave them a lot of confidence early, and I feel like a lot of that fell on me.
Entering the second half, it was clear Duke was in need of someone to step up. Cameron Boozer was, to a degree, contained but still managed 13 of the team's 32 points. As a team, the Blue Devils were just 2-for-15 from three, allowing the Saints to continue their defensive focus on Boozer and making a comeback difficult without another consistent source of offense.
The second half that saved the Blue Devils' season
As the second half began, the Blue Devils showed renewed passion defensively, while Evans got the scoring going with an impressive poster dunk on Siena's Riley Mulvey.
That dunk not only signaled the start of a new half for Duke, but of a new game for Evans. The Blue Devils, as a team, showed renewed fire defensively while Evans pushed the pace, willing his way to the basket and playing freely, clearly unburdened by his first-half struggles.
Evans' first bucket of the second half got the ball rolling for Duke offensively, but it was his second that began the comeback. Securing the defensive rebound off a missed dunk by Siena forward Francis Folefac, Evans pushed the ball from end to end, finishing with a dunk in transition. It was that bucket that began a key 11-0 run by the Blue Devils, bringing the game back within a single possession.
"I think we had to lock in our rebounding," Evans said of the team's 11-0 run in the second half. "We knew that, once we get stops, we can run. I knew once we see it, instead of just saying it, we just fall into line with everything we're trying to do."
Evans had a double-double in the game, adding 10 rebounds — seven in the second half — to his 16 points. His commitment not only to scoring but also to rebounding and defending at a high level was crucial to the team's second-half effort.
Duke's win was a team effort, but Evans led the way.
From the Boozer brothers to Head Coach Jon Scheyer to Dame Sarr, who set the tone defensively, there are a number of Blue Devils who deserve credit for the comeback, but Evans put the team on his back in this win. Taking ownership of his first-half failures and overcoming that adversity shows tremendous maturity and leadership ability, and it's those traits that saved Duke from an embarrassing first-round exit.
Follow us @DukeWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Duke Blue Devils news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Isaiah Evans overcomes early struggles, saves Duke from 1st round exit
Continue reading...
