NCAA Men's Basketball | Duke Blue Devils barely beat No. 15 seed Belmont

WASHINGTON — There it was, plain as could be on the overhead scoreboard, orange numbering on a black background: As the closing seconds ticked away Thursday night, Belmont was beating Duke.

Read that again, slowly: The No. 15 seed, Belmont, was beating second-seeded Duke. Belmont, the Atlantic Sun Conference school with zero NCAA tournament wins, was leading Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference school with three national championships.

And yet it was not to be.

Using every last one of Gerald Henderson's 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with 11.9 seconds left, and one key steal by DeMarcus Nelson, Duke barely avoided what would have been a monumental upset, edging Belmont 71-70 in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.

"The last two or three minutes, I was sitting there thinking, 'We're really in this game.' We were so close to winning," Belmont's Henry Harris said. "There's a bit of amazement in your brain, just sitting there: 'Wow!' "

Teeny, tiny Belmont University, from Nashville, Tenn., was long past wondering whether one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history was possible. Turns out, so was mighty, mighty Duke.

"We knew the situation," Duke guard Jon Scheyer said. "There was so much pressure on us. ... Ninety percent of the building wanted us to lose."

Instead, Duke (28-5) advanced to face West Virginia on Saturday.

It was much tougher than anyone could have expected, considering the pedigrees of the participants and this tidbit: Only four times has a No. 15 defeated a No. 2 in the tournament.

But Belmont used backdoor cuts and headiness down the stretch to keep things close.

"Watching them on tape, they looked really good," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who extended his record to 69 career tournament victories. "Watching them in person, they're even better."

The Bruins (25-9) repeatedly clawed back from deficits as large as 10 points. When Justin Hare's two free throws gave Belmont the lead — the lead! — with 2:02 left at 70-69, the crowd was roaring.

"That was really the most exhilarating feeling that I've ever had coaching. That's when I thought we were going to go all the way," said Belmont coach Rick Byrd.

Belmont did not score again. Henderson's driving basket with 11.9 seconds left erased the Bruins' final lead.

Belmont got one final chance, inbounding with 2.2 seconds left. Hare got a good look at the basket from about 35 feet.

"It felt good," he said.

But the ball bounced off the iron. Hare winced.

Duke celebrated as though it had won far more than an opening-round game — something it failed to do a year ago, upset by Virginia Commonwealth.

"We knew that on this night," Belmont's Andy Wicke said, "we could play with Duke."