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RALEIGH, N.C. -- Dunk City is long gone. Make way for the next bunch of bracket busters from the little-known Atlantic Sun Conference: Mercer. The 8,300-student school from Macon, Ga., delivered the biggest shocker in an already topsy-turvy NCAA tournament on Friday, going into Dukes backyard and knocking off the No. 3 seed Blue Devils 78-71. "This," Atlantic Sun player of the year Langston Hall said, "is what March Madness is all about." The 14th-seeded Bears -- with a starting lineup of five seniors -- came back from five points down in the last 4:52 as Dukes offence collapsed. They sent home one of the true blue-blood programs, coached by Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski and starring freshman Jabari Parker, sure to be one of the top NBA picks this year. Mercer is coached by former Oklahoma Baptist player Bob Hoffman, who has banged around the coaching ranks from womens teams to the American Basketball Association to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Developmental League. Next up: 11th-seeded Tennessee, which upset sixth-seeded Massachusetts 86-67, on Sunday in the third round. Jakob Gollon scored 20 points and Daniel Coursey scored 17, helping the Bears overcome a season-high 15 3-pointers from Duke. Mercer qualified for its first NCAA tournament since 1985 by winning the Atlantic Sun conference championship over Florida Gulf Coast, nicknamed "Dunk City" for the teams above-the-rim offence. A year earlier, the Bears lost that game and watched FGCU advance to the Sweet 16. "When they were going on their run, we were sitting at home thinking, Man, that could have been us," Anthony White Jr. said. Now it is. Mercer scored 11 straight points during the late 20-5 run that clinched the biggest victory in school history and sent the Blue Devils to their second first-game exit in three years. Quinn Cook scored 23 points and Rasheed Sulaimon added 20 for Duke. But their defence -- an uncharacteristic weakness all season -- did them in again while all those Mercer seniors simply got any shot they wanted. The Bears shot 56 per cent -- 58 per cent in the second half. "Theyre a team thats been together a long time," Duke forward Rodney Hood said. "They sliced us up. Theres no other way to put it." Duke went up 63-58 with 4:52 left after Parker converted a three-point play and Tyler Thornton hit three free throws. The Blue Devils didnt score again until the final minute. "I dont know if we panicked," senior Andre Dawkins said, "but we didnt do the things we needed to do." Like score. Or defend. Coursey countered by rattling in a jumper in the lane, and after two empty possessions for Duke, some slick ball rotation by Mercer set up Whites open 3 that tied it at 63. Hood picked up his fourth foul on the Bears next possession and Gollon hit two free throws to put Mercer ahead for good. By that point, Duke could do nothing right. Parker missed a 3-pointer in traffic before Hood was called for walking, leading White to give a fist-pump to those noisy Mercer fans who stood all day. The Bears hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final 2 minutes to seal it. After the buzzer sounded, the Bears players formed a circle on the sideline and danced. In the middle was guard Kevin Canevari, a Charlotte native whos one of the seven seniors on the roster. "We were confident all week," Canevari said. "We dont really look at it like were an underdog in this tournament. Obviously, everyones a great team, theres already been so many upsets." White finished with 13 points, and A-Sun player of the year Langston Hall and Ike Nwamu added 11 apiece for Mercer. Watching Florida Gulf Coast upset Georgetown and San Diego State last year gave the Bears an off-seasons worth of fuel. Hoffman said his players "worked harder than any team in the country individually to get a chance to get back to the same moment." Mercer has 1,176 wins as a program -- only 191 more than Krzyzewski has all by himself. Parker, one of a long list of high school All-Americans on Coach Ks roster, finished what might have been his final college game with 14 points. Hood -- a redshirt sophomore who also could be headed to the pros -- had just six points. Duke has been to 11 Final Fours and has four national titles under Krzyzewski, but his Blue Devils have lost their first tournament game five times. Parker said he doesnt know what his future plans are. Hood said he also was undecided because "I thought Id be playing after today." Wholesale Heat Jerseys .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Charlotte Bobcats a chance to upset the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Edrice Adebayo Jersey . "Its amazing to do this coming from such a small island, where tennis isnt necessarily recognized as one of the main sports," Puig said. "Im just happy Im able to be here playing tennis not only for myself, but for my country too. http://www.cheapheatjerseys.com/?tag=che...-waiters-jersey... maybe even more than that. Maybe all season I have to take a few blows. Cheap Miami Heat Jerseys . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Duck Calling With several marquee centres available via trade and expected to be available via free agency, the Anaheim Ducks could be primed to be big players in the coming days. Udonis Haslem Jersey .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Immediately after the Los Angeles Lakers declared Kobe Bryant out for the season, he already was thinking about how to make sure the Lakers will be much less miserable when he returns. Bryant expressed only mild frustration Wednesday after the long-expected decision to end his 18th NBA season after just six games. The superstar guards broken bone in his left knee has kept him out since shortly before Christmas, and it still hasnt healed enough for weight-bearing exercise. With just five weeks left in their injury-ravaged season, the Lakers (22-42) elected to preserve Bryant for next year, when hell be 36. And though Bryant has barely played, he is determined to make sure the Lakers failures of this season arent repeated in 2014-15. The Lakers ruthlessly competitive scorer cant take much more of this incompetence from his 16-time NBA champion franchise. "I feel like killing everybody every time I go to the arena," Bryant said. "Im just on edge all the time. Yeah, I still feel it, probably more than anybody in the organization does. I probably feel it more, and it drives me absolutely crazy." Bryant clearly identified the Lakers top off-season priorities in his mind, and they didnt include specific free-agent additions. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history called on the Lakers front office -- and owner Jim Buss in particular -- to set "a clear direction" for the franchises return to the top after they miss the playoffs this spring for just the second time in his career. "Youve got to start with Jim," Bryant said. "Youve got to start with Jim and Jeanie (Buss), and how that relationship plays out. It starts there, and having clear direction and clear authority. And then it goes down to the coaching staff, and whats Mike (DAntoni) going to do, what they want to do with Mike, and then it goes from there. Its got to start at the top." Phil Jacksons apparent decision to take a front-office job with the New York Knicks also drew a negative reaction from Bryant. The Lakers flirted with re-hiring the 11-time NBA champion coach early last season before unexpectedly choosing DAntoni, whose two injury-plagued teams have gone 62-74. "You know how I feel about Phil," Bryant said. "I have so much admiration for him, and respect, and have a great relationship with him. Personally, it would be hard for me to understand that happening twice. It would be tough. I dont really get it." Bryant said nothing about his relationship with DAntoni, and the coach said he hadnt spoken to Bryant about the decisioon to shut him down.dddddddddddd But Bryant said he wont be satisfied with another rebuilding year for the Lakers, even though his two-year, $48 million contract extension starting next season will absorb a large chunk of the teams upcoming salary-cap space. Most of Los Angeles roster will be free agents in the summer, and Bryant has said he wants centre Pau Gasol to return. "How can I be satisfied with it?" Bryant asked. "Were like 100 games under .500. I cant be satisfied with that at all. This is not what we stand for. This is not what we play for. A lot of times, its hard to understand that message if youre not a die-hard Laker fan. Its hard to really understand where were coming from, what were used to, what were accustomed to, which is playing for championships. Everything else is a complete failure. Thats just how it is." Exactly 11 months after tearing his Achilles, Bryant remained confident he can return in something close to top form. He plans to approach his remaining rehabilitation as "a seven-month training program," giving him ample time to rebuild strength in his left leg. "I dont want to say Ill be back at the top of my game," Bryant said. "Because everybody is going to think Im crazy, and its the old-player-not-letting-go sort of thing. But thats what its going to be." Bryant missed the first 19 games of this season after tearing his left Achilles tendon last April, returning Dec. 8. The five-time NBA champion was back in uniform for just 10 days before fracturing the top of his shinbone in Memphis. The Lakers initially thought Bryant could return shortly after six weeks of recovery, but the bone has been slow to heal. "With Kobes injury still not healed, the amount of time hed need to rehab and be ready to play, and the amount of time remaining in the season, weve simply run out of time for him to return," Lakers trainer Gary Vitti said. Los Angeles began the day in a three-way tie for last place in the Western Conference with 29 losses in its last 38 games heading into Thursdays trip to Oklahoma City. Steve Nash hasnt been formally shut down for the season, but DAntoni indicated its also unlikely the two-time MVP guard will return this season. The 40-year-old Nash, who has one year left on his contract, has played in only 10 games this season while dealing with back problems and related woes. DAntoni said Jordan Hill and Nick Young are both unlikely to play on the Lakers upcoming two-game road trip, but Gasol is probable despite skipping part of practice Wednesday. 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