Upset of Duke Leads to over 150K in GoFundMe for Dorian Relief

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Upset of Duke Leads to over 150K in GoFundMe for Dorian Relief

There were less than 3 seconds left in the Stephen F. Austin and Duke game, Lumberjack guard Nathan Bain was on a breakaway layup, looked up at the clock, and sprinted towards his goal. Before the beginning of the Tuesday night game, no one could predict that within the next 2.7 seconds of overtime, Bain would lay in the go ahead layup for an epic victory over the mighty Blue Devils. No one else could predict that Bain’s GoFundMe account, to help out his native Bahamas, would jump from the $2,000 donation amount he had received in the previous 2 months to a hefty $150,000 within the next few days! Such is the glory of beating the number 1 team in the nation.

This was a basketball game that Duke was supposed to win. And win big. Duke had not lost to a non-conference foe at home in 150 games. That covered a 20 year span. Duke also had a roster full of 5-star players that will most likely be “one-and-dones” and elect to forgo their college eligibility for the NBA draft. However, on this night, fifth-year senior Bain (11 points) and his teammates had other plans. Bain’s layup gave Stephen F. Austin a 85-83 victory in Cameron Indoor Stadium and a moment to remember. The Lumberjacks applied their signature pressure defense to the Blue Devils which resulted into 22 turnovers for Duke. Stephen F. Austin only turned the ball over 14 times. The final score and the turnover battle were about the only places the Lumberjacks prevailed. Duke had a 40-34 rebounding edge, made 13 more free throws, had a 14-2 blocked shot advantage, and shot a higher field goal percentage. But tonight was Bain’s night. It was the Lumberjacks’ night. And it was a night for the Bahamas.

A thankful Bain was still in disbelief on Wednesday–not so much for the win, but for the generosity of so many for giving to his GoFundMe relief fund. For a young man whose family had “lost everything”, this night, Nathan Bain made so many from his native Bahamas feel like “winners”.

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