WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was the kind of game everyone expected. Tough, physical, two good teams straining to move on in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke and St. John’s went at it for 40 minutes in an NCAA game that had a little of everything. There were big shots and hustlng defensive plays and relentless effort. It was as if both teams were refusing to lose, although that was inevitable.

In the end, top-seeded Duke emerged with an 80-75 victory over St. John’s in the semifinals of the East Region at Capital One Arena.

The Blue Devils (35-2) move into Sunday’s regional final against the winner of Saturday’s Michigan State-Connecticut semifinal game.

With Duke leading 77-74 with 32.4 seconds left, Cameron Boozer missed the front end of a one-and-one at the line. Zuby Ejiofor of St. John’s then was fouled on a drive and made the first of two free throws, only to miss the second.

Duke’s Isaiah Evans was fouled with 11.2 seconds remaining, missing the first free throw, making the second for a 78-75 lead with his 25th point. Dylan Darling of St. John’s the last-second hero in the Red Storm’s NCAA win over Kansas, was off the mark with a 3-pointer and Duke was soon celebrating.

Boozer again shook off an ineffective first half to collect another double-double for the Blue Devils, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. And the Blue Devils got a big lift and some strong play, especially in the second half, from Caleb Foster.

The Devils were quick to get Foster into the game, subbing him in at the first media break. Foster’s ball handling was spotless enough and he showed good mobility after being out with his foot injury since the North Carolina game on March 7.

Foster and Pat Ngongba both got their playing time and both had to adjust to the game speed — Foster missed the ACC Tournament and the first two NCAA games as he rehabbed from foot surgery. Both teams said it would be a brutally physical, almost flesh-eating kind of game and it was. Players were fighting around screens, battling their way through the lane, putting bodies on bodies, grabbing and clutching.

Much of it was man-to-man matchups, but Duke again made good use of a 3-2 zone in the second half. A driving basket by Bryce Hopkins and then slam putback off a missed free throw by Dillon Mitchell gave St John’s a 69-67 lead, but Evans countered with a 3 for Duke. Boozer then drove for a score — Foster screaming “Go to the basket” at Boozer — and 3-point play wih 3:06 remaining for a 73-69 lead. An 8-0 run by the Red Storm early in the second half allowed it to open a 48-44 lead, capped by a Dylan Darling steal off Cayden Boozer near midcorut that led to an Ejiofor dunk. That had Scheyer calling a timeout to talk things over.

But St. John’s kept the pressure on. Another Duke turnover became an Ejiofor layup and a 50-44 lead as Scheyer tried to calm his team from the sidleine. Ruben Prey’s fourth 3-pointer of the game for St. John’s then pushed Duke into a 53-44 hole, and the Devils had the media break at 15:26 left to talk things over.

That’s when Duke went zone, as it did successfully in NCAA wins over Siena and TCU, with Nikolas Khamenia often at the top of the zone. And back-to-back baskets by Foster pulled Duke within 55-49 and forced a St. John’s timeout as the junior guard showed some fire in his play.

Foster had a chance to tie the score with a 3 after a Khamenia steal, but badly missed with 11:46 left. But Duke moved ahead on an Evans 3 with 7:54 left.

It was ebb-and-flow in the half, which ended on Ruben Prey’s third 3 of the game and pushed the Red Storm ahead 40-39. St. John’s was 9-of-18 from distance in the opening half as six players had 3s.

The Red Storm’s full-court pressure was disruptive, often making the Blue Devils strain to make the inbounds pass and throwing Duke out of sync in its halfcourt offense. Duke had five first-half turnovers and came close to have five more.

A 12-2 run by the Devils over a four-minute period had Duke in front 35-28 in the first half. But Dylan Darling had his second timely 3 of the half — the first after Dye jumped ahead 11-4 early — as the Red Storm again made a move.

There no easy shots, by either team. Duke again got some strong play from Cayden Boozer while Cameron Boozer could find little room to operate offensively. Cam Boozer had a quiet 9 points in the opening half and one rebound, although the Devils controlled their defensive board in the half.

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