Caleb Foster steadies Duke in return as Blue Devils beat St. John’s 80-75 and advance to Elite Eight
WASHINGTON — Caleb Foster returned from a broken foot and rescued Duke’s national title hopes, helping the top-seeded Blue Devils rally from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat St. John’s 80-75 on Friday night and advance to the Elite Eight. Playing less than three weeks after surgery on his left foot, Foster scored all of his 11 points in the second half.
Isaiah Evans scored 25 points and Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (35-2), who extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 14, but not before the tenacious Red Storm (30-7) pushed Duke to the wire. Duke will face either second-seeded UConn or third-seeded Michigan State in Sunday’s East Region final. The Blue Devils led 77-74 with 32.
4 seconds left when Boozer missed the front end of a one-and-one. Zuby Ejiofor drew a foul at the other end with 14. 7 seconds to play, but the St.
John’s standout made only one of two free throws. Evans also made one of two, giving the Red Storm one last chance to tie it, down 78-75. But Dylan Darling — whose layup at the buzzer against Kansas in the previous round put St.
John’s in the Sweet 16 — missed badly from well beyond the arc. Boozer made two free throws with 1. 5 seconds left.