By Joshua Miranda

Sports Capital Journalism Program

SAN ANTONIO – There was no place where heartbreak felt more real than in the Duke locker room late Saturday night.

The Duke Blue Devils had just lost in agonizing fashion to the Houston Cougars, 70-67, in a national semifinal of the NCAA men’s tournament. The Cougars, staying true to their name, clawed back from a 14-point deficit to advance to the championship game for the first time since 1984.

With just one field goal in the final 10:30, the Blue Devils left the door wide open for a Houston team that thrived on doubt. With 86 seconds left, Duke led by seven. But after tough possessions, a tough Houston defense and a missed game-winner from Cooper Flagg, this game quickly became an instant classic.

And even before the media were allowed to invade their despair, the despair had begun to escape from the room.

Members of the coaching staff and student managers rolled out equipment with red, tear-filled eyes and sniffles they couldn’t contain. They carried their gear, and their heartbreak.

Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, the only two Blue Devils to finish with double-digit points, came out first. Knueppel was quiet but composed. Flagg was holding himself together by a thread. The ball was in his hands near the end, just as it had been all season throughout his historic freshman campaign. As they were wheeled away with head coach Jon Scheyer toward the interview room, the anticipation grew for what might be behind those locker room doors.

When they finally opened, the rush began. With the team’s two biggest stars gone and Khaman Maluach unavailable, the question became: who would everyone run to?

Sion James.

Often the forgotten starter, James was now remembered, and not fondly. As the inbounder, he felt the full pressure of the bright lights. One turnover. One timeout. One near five-second violation. Each proved pivotal.

“It hurts,” James said. “We really, really, really wanted to bring them [the fans] a championship. It hurts.”

And it did hurt, not just for James.

It hurt Neal Begovic, whose teary eyes never left his towel. It hurt Patrick Ngongba, who dapped up and embraced every teammate before disappearing into another room. It hurt Spencer Hubbard, the 5-foot-8 guard, who wept bitterly before ducking away from cameras and lights. Turkish big man Stanley Borden wrote his thoughts in a journal, something to unpack another day.

And finally, it hurt Cooper and Kon.

“I wouldn’t have wanted it to be with anybody else,” Flagg, the Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year would say quietly in the interview room. “I hope that was able to shine through on the court, that people can remember us and appreciate the way we were able to play and the effort we gave one another.”

Outside the quiet of the Duke lockerroom, the Houston celebration had begun on the court and spilled into the hallways, just beyond the closed doors. Clapping and cheering passed the only safe haven Duke had left.

But the ship sank with its captain. Coach Jon Scheyer was at the helm when Duke’s offense collapsed. His No. 1-ranked unit lost its rhythm just as Houston mounted its comeback. He was in that locker room. He knew how hard his players tried, how much they wanted it.

“The first thing I told them is I’m sorry, because we truly believed that we were going to be plaing Monday night, and we’re capable of doing that,” Scheyer said in the interview room. “The thing I loved about this group, they had a purity to them. We’ve done this thing differently. Being young, to be this successful, part of ‘em doesn’t know any better, which is great. Then also, like, these are the things that experience gives you, when you go through these moments.

“Unfortunately, it comes with the tournament. It’s the most heartbreaking thing… I couldn’t be more grateful in 2025 to have this connected of a group. It’s hard to do.”

The coach had started speaking of this team in the past tense. Without a game to look forward to on Monday night, without any possibility of a sixth national championship celebration in Durham, the Blue Devils would soon leave a dressing room together for the last time this season. Their despair would accompany them home.