The second half was played very closely, with neither team taking a substantial lead. With 3:16 to play, Duke took a 60–55 lead on two made free throws by Nolan Smith. Butler cut the lead to one point in the final minute and, after a missed Kyle Singler jump shot with 36 seconds remaining, got a chance to retake the lead. Butler was unable to initiate their offense and Stevens called a timeout to set up a play. A failed inbounds attempt and a timeout later, Hayward missed a baseline fade-away jumper and Brian Zoubek came down with the rebound for Duke. He was quickly fouled with less than 4 seconds remaining. Hayward narrowly missed a desperation half-court shot as time expired, making the final margin 61–59.