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GREENSBORO -- After 38 minutes, 17 seconds of game-planning, offensive plays and defensive stops, Save-Face Saturday for the ACC came down to the fickle bounces and rolls of the basketball.

And when Gerald Henderson hit the final free throw with 7.2 seconds left, second-seeded Duke escaped the Greensboro Coliseum with a 74-69 victory over seventh-seeded Texas in the second round of the NCAA tournament's East Regional on Saturday night.

Henderson finished 10-for-13 from the foul line and scored a game-high 24 points for Duke (30-6), which punched its ticket to Boston and a berth in the Sweet Sixteen against Villanova.

"It means a lot for this team to get past this stage," Duke senior David McClure said. "We're excited to go on and see what happens next."

It means a lot for the ACC, too. The selection committee invited seven teams from the conference to play in the NCAA tournament. After two rounds, only two remain: the two that started here in Greensboro.

Kyle Singler fouled out after scoring 17 points and Jon Scheyer had 13 points for the Blue Devils, who followed North Carolina into the Sweet Sixteen. Nolan Smith scored 11 off the bench, and he hit the free throws that put Duke ahead for good in the final minute of a wild finish.

Trailing 71-69 after Smith's free throws with 47 seconds left, Texas (23-12) tried to take its first lead since the first half. Damion James, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, shot a 3-pointer from the right corner that went most of the way through the hoop before spinning out.

The fickle ball ended up in Henderson's hands, and he was fouled with 30.8 seconds to play. He hit one of two free throws, pushing Duke's lead to 72-69.

Scheyer then made perhaps the best -- or luckiest -- play in a game filled with great plays and lucky bounces.

After Texas star J.J. Abrams missed a shot, several players got their hands on the ball and it was headed out of bounds. Scheyer leaped into press row after flinging the ball high in the air back toward the Duke basket -- so high it came close to hitting the midcourt scoreboard suspended from the coliseum rafters. If it had, Texas would've kept the ball, inbounding at midcourt.

But fate was with Duke. The ball missed the scoreboard, and freshman Elliot Williams won a foot race with Texas' Gary Johnson to the ball. Johnson fouled Williams with 11.5 seconds left.

"To be honest with you, I was just trying to get it out of there," Scheyer said. "It worked out pretty well where it landed. I couldn't tell you I was positive that's where it was going. &ellipses; Time was an issue, so I was just trying to get it down the court and give my teammates a chance to go get it."

There was time enough for a little more drama, and another great -- or lucky -- play. Williams missed both free throws, but the second miss bounced over the two Texas rebounders closest to the basket, and McClure tipped it away.

"At first, I was contemplating whether to try and get in there, because I didn't want to get a stupid foul," McClure said. "Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) told me to try and get in there if I could and get a hand on it. I was able to gather it for a second, and once I got it knocked away I tried to bat it out to where I knew some of my teammates were."

One of those teammates was Henderson, who grabbed the ball and drew a foul with 7.2 seconds left. He made his first free throw, pushing the lead to four points and sealing the victory.

"Dave was in there, and he made a heck of a play," Henderson said. "Coach told him to try to get in there to tip it without fouling. He tipped it. I think Elliot tipped it. I knew once I got it that we had the (possession) arrow, so they just fouled me. That was that."

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

TEXAS (23-12)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

James 34 6-13 2-3 4-10 2 3 15

Pittman 22 3-5 2-5 2-8 1 4 8

Abrams 40 5-13 5-5 1-5 2 1 17

Balbay 32 1-2 0-0 0-3 0 2 2

Mason 22 1-1 1-2 1-1 2 2 3

Johnson 21 1-5 4-6 3-4 0 5 6

Atchley 6 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 1 0

Ward 21 7-8 2-3 1-1 1 4 16

Chapman 2 1-1 0-1 1-2 0 1 2

Totals 200 25-50 16-25 13-36 8 23 69

Percentages: FG .500, FT .640.

Three-point goals: 3-12, .250 (Abrams 2-6, James 1-4, Atchley 0-2).

Team rebounds: 1.

Blocks: 3 (James 2, Atchley).

Turnovers: 15 (James 6, Balbay 4, Mason 2, Pittman, Atchley, Ward).

Steals: 5 (Abrams 2, Chapman, Ward, Mason).

Technical fouls: None.

DUKE (30-6)

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Singler 33 6-12 2-2 4-7 1 5 17

Thomas 25 1-1 3-4 2-6 1 5 5

Henderson 36 7-21 10-13 1-6 1 2 24

Williams 22 1-3 0-2 1-4 0 1 2

Scheyer 34 4-9 2-2 0-2 2 2 13

Smith 29 3-6 4-4 2-2 3 1 11

Paulus 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

McClure 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Zoubek 13 1-1 0-0 2-4 0 4 2

Totals 200 23-53 21-27 12-31 9 20 74

Percentages: FG .434, FT .778.

Three-point goals: 7-14, .500 (Scheyer 3-5, Singler 3-5, Smith 1-1, Henderson 0-3).

Blocks: 2 (Singler, Zoubek).

Turnovers: 9 (Singler 3, Scheyer 2, Zoubek 2, Henderson, Smith).

Steals: 8 (Scheyer 3, Singler 2, Williams, Smith, Zoubek).

Technical fouls: None.

Texas 29 40 -- 69

Duke 36 38 -- 74

A--22,749. Officials--Jamie Luckie, Anthony Greene, John Hughes.