Duke vs. Houston box score, stats, game summary and more ft. LJ Cryer

Duke led for almost the entire game, but Houston rallied 9-0 late to scratch out a shocking 70-67 win. The Cougars will now move on to the national title game against Florida on Monday night.

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Duke vs. Houston Box Score

Duke

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
C. Flagg	27	7	4	2	3	1	1
K. Maluach	6	0	1	0	1	0	4
K. Knueppel	16	7	2	1	0	0	0
T. Proctor	7	1	2	0	0	1	3
S. James	7	5	0	1	0	2	1
M. Brown	4	3	3	2	0	2	3
M. Gillis	0	2	0	1	0	1	2
P. Ngongba II	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
I. Evans	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
C. Foster	0	4	1	0	0	0	1

Houston

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
J. Tugler	4	8	2	1	4	1	3
J. Roberts	11	12	5	2	1	2	2
M. Uzan	7	3	2	0	0	2	4
E. Sharp	16	3	0	1	0	1	2
LJ Cryer	26	5	1	1	0	1	1
J. Francis	4	1	0	0	1	0	3
T. Arceneaux	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
M. Wilson	2	2	0	1	0	1	1

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Duke vs. Houston Game Summary

Duke took an early lead 18-9 after Malik Brown tip-in with 10:16 left in the first half. Houston pulled within 18-15 on a J'wan Roberts layup with 7:47 in the half. But Duke went on a 13-4 run to claim a 31-19 edge. The Blue Devils held a 34-28 lead at halftime.

Duke began the second half hot, pushing the edge to 56-42 on a pair of Cooper Flagg free throws with 11:54 to play. Houston fought back to within 59-55 on a Joseph Tugler tipin with 5:03 remaining. Duke pushed the lead back to nine, but Houston cut it to 67-64 on an Emanual Sharp 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.

Houston then capped the rally with a pair of unlikely plays. After a Mylik Wilson steal, Joseph Tugler hit a tip-in. Houston fouled and Tyrese Proctor missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Cooper Flagg fouled on the rebound, and J'Wan Roberts made two free throws to give Houston the lead. Flagg missed on the ensuing possession, and Houston held on for a shocking win.

LJ Cryer made a pair of crucial free throws and scored 26 points for the Cougars, including six 3-pointers. Emanuel Sharp added 16 points, while J'Wan Roberts finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Flagg had 27 points for Duke, but shot 8-for-19, including the crucial miss in the final seconds, while Kon Knueppel added 16 points for the Blue Devils.

Houston will play in its third NCAA title game, the first since the days of Hakeem (then Akeem) Olajuwon. The Cougars are likely to be an underdog again, but after Saturday night, anything might be possible.