DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997                TAG: 9703170151

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER

LENGTH: 68 lines

BLUE DEVILS MEET THEIR MASTER

PROVIDENCE DOWNSIZES, THEM DOWNS DUKE.

Duke bid farewell to the NCAA tournament with teary eyes but no apologies Sunday.

The second-seeded Blue Devils were upset 98-87 in the second round of the Southeast Regional by 10th-seeded Providence.

``We are disappointed to lose, but I couldn't be any more proud of my team,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after leaving his dressing room where he said he left ``14 crying kids.''

``I thought we played extremely well,'' Krzyzewski said. ``We just happened to play a team that played better.''

Duke, which won the ACC regular-season title, finished its season at 24-9.

Providence (23-11), which had a mediocre season in the Big East, ran up the highest point total of the season on the Blue Devils. Senior guard Derrick Brown led the way with a career-high 33 points.

The taller Friars hammered Duke on the boards 43-24, but it was when forced to get down to Duke's size that they took control of the game in the second half. That came when 6-foot-9 forward Austin Croshere went to the bench with four fouls and the Friars went with a lineup that didn't include anyone taller than 6-6.

With Providence down 55-50, it wasn't what coach Pete Gillen wanted. But it turned the game around.

The smaller, quicker unit outscored Duke 11-1 during a 2:18 stretch to turn a five-point deficit into a 61-56 lead with 13:20 left.

``When they went to the smaller lineup, they matched up with us well,'' Duke guard Steve Wojciechowski said. ``It was like seeing ourselves on the other side of the ball.''

The Blue Devils never led again despite another splendid offense performance in the final half by senior guard Jeff Capel.

Capel, who scored 25 points in Friday's opening-round win over Murray State, scored 26 points, his season high.

He scored 19 points in the second half and led a rally that pulled the Blue Devils even for a final time with 5:31 remaining. By then, though, center Roshown McLeod had fouled out and Wojciechowski had eased off his pressure defense because of foul problems.

Providence quickly rebuilt its lead to 10 and began its celebration with a minute still on the clock.

``It was like a dream. I couldn't believe we were pulling away from a team like Duke,'' Gillen said.

As hard as the Blue Devils tried, they failed to match their level of play in winning the ACC regular season.

``We lost momentum near the end of regular season and never got it going again,'' Wojociechowski said. ``Providence came into the game with momentum. We caught them at their best, especially in the second half. It had nothing to do with our defense. They were just hot.''

The Friars improved their shooting from 47 percent in the first half to 64.5 percent in the second half.

Croshere, who had 39 points in Friday's victory over Marquette, played the final 12 minutes and finished with 21 points.

``When I was in high school in Los Angeles I had never heard of Providence, but I watched Duke go to all those Final Fours,'' said Croshere, who patterns his appearance after former Blue Devils star Christian Laettner. ``Now, to beat a team like Duke in my senior year is a huge accomplishment.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color AP photo

Providence's God Shammgod, left, and Duke's Trajan Langdon battle

for the ball. Providence advances to the Sweet 16.

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