Duke vs. Yale: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

For one half, Duke dominated Yale in nearly every facet of the game. In the second half, however, the Blue Devils held on for dear life as the upstart Bulldogs orchestrated a furious rally.

Cinderella's slipper didn't quite fit this time around for the 12th-seeded Bulldogs, though, as the fourth-seeded Blue Devils escaped with a 71-64 win, advancing to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.

Grayson Allen (29 PTS, 1 STL, 1 AST) and Brandon Ingram (25 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST) led the way for the Blue Devils and helped stave off Yale's furious second-half comeback after Duke held a 48-25 halftime lead.

Brandon Sherrod (22 PTS, 7 REB, 3 STL, 2 AST) and Justin Sears (12 PTS, 11 REB) paced the Bulldogs.

Yale opened the second half by outscoring Duke, 22-6, including a 15-0 run. It got as close as a three-point deficit with 41 seconds remaining, but Duke went 4-of-5 from the line down the stretch and didn't allow another bucket.

Yale's resiliency impressed basketball writer Dick Weiss:

Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel concurred:

The Blue Devils owned the first half, however.

So dominant were Allen and his teammates in the initial half that Yale barely outscored Allen, 25-22. Ingram and Luke Kennard added 11 points apiece, while Mason Plumlee dominated in the paint (5 REB, 2 BLK). 

Duke's offense was as fluid in the first half as this Ingram dish to Kennard on the wing:

Sherrod led the way for the Bulldogs with 10 points.

Duke made nearly as many three-pointers (nine) in the first half as Yale made field goals (11). The one plus for the Bulldogs in the half was that they were stronger on the boards, out-rebounding Duke 18-14, including nine on the offensive glass.

But Allen was the story early in the contest. ESPN Stats & Information shared his shot chart:

That showing reminded Yahoo Sports' Brad Evans of the type of performance fans of the Golden State Warriors have grown accustomed to seeing:

The Blue Devils played a nearly flawless first half, their second strong half in a row after they overcame a three-point deficit at halftime against UNC Wilmington in the opening round to earn a 93-85 win.

CBS Sports' Seth Davis wasn't surprised by Duke's strong opening frame and opined that a bit of late-season adversity may have actually been just what the team needed heading into the NCAA tournament:

After the first 20 minutes, the game seemed done and dusted.

And then Yale awoke.

The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 54-47 on their magical run, including this exclamation point from Sears:

The key for the Bulldogs during the run was their defense. They ratcheted up their full-court press and overall defensive pressure, which, in turn, took the Blue Devils out of their offensive rhythm.

Duke's inability to deal with Yale's pressure surprised Tim Brando of Fox Sports:

The crowd was fully behind the underdogs at that point, as Thamel tweeted:

Ingram finally scored at the 11:16 mark, ending Duke's five-minute, 14-second scoreless streak. The Blue Devils appeared to stabilize from there and took a 65-53 lead with 3:37 remaining, as Ingram paced the team with nine points during that stretch.

But Yale had one more burst in the tank, going on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to four points with 1:08 remaining. After Kennard hit two free throws, Sherrod made the first of two free throws on the other end before missing the second, though Sears tipped in the miss to cut Duke's lead to three points.

That was as close as Yale would get, however, and Duke moved on to the Sweet 16, where it now awaits the winner of No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 St. Joe's. The Blue Devils team that opened the game against Yale is fully capable of giving the talented Ducks plenty of trouble and would be favored against the Hawks.

The Duke team that came out to start the second half will be in big trouble against either team, however. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils did show an ability to hold on for the win despite adversity.

For a team as young as Duke, that's certainly a good sign as it looks to advance to the Elite Eight.

Postgame Reaction

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski talked about his team's tale of two halves after the nail-biting contest.

“Everything went unbelievable for us in the first half,” he told WNCN.com. “Everything we shot went in. They had some open shots, but they missed them.”

That, of course, didn't last the full 40 minutes.

“I knew they weren’t 23 points better than us,” Yale Coach James Jones told Zach Schonbrun of the New York Times. “I knew we were going to have a chance to come back.” 

Coach K attributed his team's second-half performance to the team's youthful roster.

“We have three 18-year-olds playing that get lost at the amusement park,” he said.

One of those freshman, Ingram, was clutch down the stretch, however, hitting several key free throws.

"I wasn't nervous," Ingram told Duke Basketball. "Coach [Jon] Scheyer had me stay after for 100 free throws yesterday. That helped."

Plumlee wasn't surprised that Ingram stepped up for Duke.

"I love playing with Brandon," he said. "He leads by example with his play and toughness. He's done that all year."

For Ingram, the performance was a reminder that he may be a one-and-done player, but he still has goals he's hoping to reach before he turns pro.

"I didn't come here just to get by," he noted. "I came here to play for Coach K, win big games and make a run in the NCAA Tournament."

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.