No. 1 Duke outlasts No. 5 St. John’s 80-75 in Sweet 16 thriller
WASHINGTON -- Isaiah Evans scored 25 points, Cameron Boozer added 22 points and 10 rebounds and No. 1 seed Duke defeated No. 5 St. John's 80-75 on Friday night to reach the NCAA Tournament East Regional final.
Caleb Foster recovered from a right foot fracture to add 11 points -- all after halftime -- for Duke (35-2) in his first minutes since a March 7 home win over North Carolina to close the regular season.
It was enough to stretch the nation's longest active winning streak to 14 games against an admirable challenge from Rick Pitino's Red Storm in their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999.
Duke will play the winner of Friday's later game between No. 2 UConn and No. 3 Michigan State in its third consecutive Elite Eight appearance under fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer.
Zuby Ejiofor scored 17 points and Bryce Hopkins added 15 for the Red Storm (30-7), who led by as many as 10 early in the second half.
Dillon Mitchell added 13 points and Ruben Prey had 12 by making a career-best four 3-pointers on a perfect night beyond the arc.
But Pitino still sustained only his second career loss in 14 Sweet 16 appearances as St. John's finally cooled from 3-point range, making only two of their last 10 attempts.
The Blue Devils outrebounded the Red Storm 40-27 and eventually used their interior superiority to take control.
After St. John's scored a quick four points for a 69-67 lead with 4:21 remaining, the tournament's top overall seed went in front for good with an 8-0 run.
Evans' step-back 3-pointer restored Duke's lead at 70-69, Cameron Boozer followed by converting a three-point play and then Foster scored on a putback to make it 75-69 with 2:15 left.
Second-round hero Dylan Darling still had a look at a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining, but it hit off the side of the rim and out of bounds for Duke's ball.
The Red Storm roared in front earlier on a 13-0 run by getting in transition.
Ejiofor hit three baskets on the break off turnovers, before Prey's fourth 3 made it 53-44 as the St. John's fans chanted his name.