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7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
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Friday, November 25
New York City
7 p.m.
Duke University
70
vs
67
Memphis
No. 1 Duke Tops No. 11 Memphis, 70-67, For NIT Championship
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK (AP) - Shelden Williams matched his career high with 30 points, including the game-winning tip-in with 32 seconds left, to give No. 1 Duke a 70-67 victory over No. 11 Memphis on Friday night in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Blue Devils (5-0) didn't wrap up their third title in the tournament at Madison Square Garden right after Williams' eighth rebound of the game.
Duke's Lee Melchionni was fouled after grabbing the rebound of a miss by Memphis' Darius Washington Jr., but he missed two free throws with 11 seconds left. Sean Dockery of the Blue Devils got the rebound of the second miss, but he didn't make the first of his two free throws. He made the second for a 70-67 lead and then Memphis freshman Shawne Williams hit the rim with a 3-point attempt at the buzzer and Duke had the title to go with the ones in 1985 and 2000.
J.J. Redick had 15 points - all in the first half for Duke - and freshman Josh McRoberts added 12. The Duke starters scored all the points for the Blue Devils, who were without starting guard DeMarcus Nelson, who is out indefinitely after suffering a hairline fracture of his right ankle in the 78-68 semifinal win over Drexel.
Williams had 15 points for the Tigers (3-1), while Rodney Carney added 12 and Washington had 11. Memphis advanced to the final with an 88-80 win over No. 16 UCLA in the semifinals.
Greg Paulus made two free throws with 5:02 remaining to give Duke a 64-57 lead. Memphis then went on a 6-0 run capped by a layup by Washington with 3:11 to go.
Dockery hit a three-pointers from the corner to make it 67-63 and Williams tied it himself with a drive to the basket with 1:07 to play and two free throws 10 seconds later.
Williams tipped in a drive by Dockery to give Duke the lead for good but that and Dockery's 3 were the Blue Devils' only field goals over the final 5:17.
This was Duke's fifth appearance in the tournament and the two times it didn't win it, it lost in the title game.
Memphis dropped to 0-7 all-time against teams ranked No. 1, but it was the first time coach John Calipari lost to a top-ranked team. He was 3-0 against No. 1 teams during his tenure at Massachusetts.
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