PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Grayson Allen scored 22 of his game-high 29 points in the first half, and fourth-seeded Duke survived a second-half surge from 12th-seeded Yale to earn a 71-64 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
Allen made 10-of-15 shots, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, Brandon Ingram had 25 points, and Luke Kennard added 13 for the defending champion Blue Devils (25-10), who are making their fifth Sweet 16 appearance in seven years.
Duke, No. 19 in the nation, faces top-seeded Oregon or eighth-seeded St. Joseph's in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
Brandon Sherrod finished with 22 points, Justin Sears had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Anthony Dallier scored a career-high 12 for Yale (23-7), which won six of its final seven games and 18-of-20.
The Bulldogs earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory Thursday, upsetting fifth-seeded Baylor 79-75 in their first trip to the Big Dance since 1962.
The Blue Devils opened a 27-point lead in the first half and were up 48-25 at the break.
Yale brought the crowd back to life with a 15-0 run, capped by Sears' layup with 11:40 remaining, to pull to within 54-47.
After an early 3-pointer, Allen was held scoreless for nearly 12 minutes and the Duke drought spanned four minutes before Ingram's layup with 11:13 on the clock.
Foul trouble plagued Blue Devils big man Marshall Plumlee, who picked up his fourth foul with 8:52 left and didn't re-enter until the 5:48 mark.
Dallier and Sears each hit two free throws to bring Yale to within 65-61 with 1:08 left and Sears' tip-in after Sherrod went 1-of-2 from the line with 39 seconds left to make it 67-64.
Ingram and Allen made 4-of-5 free throws in the final 33 seconds to seal it.
Allen nearly outscored the Bulldogs by himself in the first as Duke surged to a 23-point lead.
Sherrod's jumper with 16:49 left before halftime put Yale up 8-6, and the Bulldogs were within 20-15 at the 12:22 mark before the Blue Devils blew the game wide open with a 26-4 run.
Allen scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers, and his teammates sank 5-of-9 from beyond the arc as the Blue Devils shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the field, including 9-of-15 from deep.
Sherrod's 10 points led the Bulldogs, who shot 11-of-32, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range.
NOTES: Duke is 5-0 all-time against Yale, including an 80-61 thumping at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 25. Bulldogs F Justin Sears scored a game-high 19 points and drew praise from Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski. "He would be an outstanding player (in the ACC)," Krzyzewski said. ... Duke has been a No. 4 seed or better in 29 of its 32 NCAA Tournaments under Krzyzewski. ... Yale coach James Jones' brother, Joe, is the men's basketball coach at nearby Boston University and attended both of the Bulldogs' games in Providence. "(James has) all the strengths that you need to be a very good coach ... and he cares about his kids," Joe Jones said. ... No team from the Ivy League has reached the Sweet 16 since Cornell did so in 2010. ... Yale's last victory against an ACC team came on Nov. 18, 2010, a 75-67 win at Boston College.
