SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Up by double figures in the second half at the Final Four, closing in on the chance to play for yet another national championship, Duke was right where it had worked all season to be.
What happened next was unforgettable, history of the most painful kind.
Up 14 with 8 1/2 minutes left, the Blue Devils improbably faded down the stretch, done in by Houston’s relentless fight to stay in a game that had frequently seemed on the verge of getting away. They missed shots. They turned the ball over. They couldn’t get stops. And their biggest star — Associated Press national player of the year Cooper Flagg — missed a shot for the lead in the final seconds.
By the final horn, the Cougars had scored the game’s last nine points in the final 1:14 to erase the remnants of the Blue Devils’ big lead and finish off a 70-67 victory Saturday night in the second semifinal.
Duke went from in firm control to having a desperate final possession after LJ Cryer’s last two free throws with 3.7 seconds left, leaving the Blue Devils only Sion James’ full-court heave for a try at a tying 3 with no timeouts left. But after a scramble for the catch, it ended up in Tyrese Proctor’s hands to flail it toward the basket and miss everything as the horn sounded.
That sent James crumpling to midcourt in anguish, only to look around and realize he had to quickly spring up because the Cougars’ bench was sprinting his way to celebrate a stunning victory. That included J’Wan Roberts — who hit the go-ahead free throws after drawing an over-the-back foul on Flagg — running over to Cougars fans nearby to scream in victory while popping the front of his jersey.
Roberts had also defended Flagg’s shot for the lead moments before Cryer’s last free throws, forcing the 6-foot-9 freshman to take a tough fading shot in the lane that missed off the front of the rim.
As Houston’s players celebrated, Flagg walked with his head down toward the edge of the court for the stairs to down to the tunnel and to the locker room. His teammates followed with stunned expressions, along with freshman big man Khaman Maluach having tears streaming down his face.
Story by Aaron Beard.
