SAN ANTONIO ? Leading by eight, Duke seemed on its way to another Final Four win under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Instead, the Blue Devils got an ending most foul.

Connecticut scored 12 straight points in the final 31/2 minutes to beat Duke 79-78 on Saturday night in the semifinals and advance to the title game Monday night against Georgia Tech.

Duke’s three big men — Shelden Williams, Shavlik Randolph and Nick Horvath — fouled out, clearing the way for Connecticut All-American Emeka Okafor to take over inside.

Okafor had five points during the Huskies’ rally, scoring inside against Duke’s depleted front line. Rashad Anderson also had five points, including two free throws.

Duke’s shots stopped falling late in the game against UConn’s aggressive defense and the Blue Devils committed two key turnovers in the final 90 seconds.

“We couldn’t finish the game off,” Randolph said. “We had it right there in our hands. It’s frustrating.”

It’s the second time in five years the Blue Devils have lost to the Huskies in the Final Four. The first one ended with Trajan Langdon committing a turnover on Duke’s final possession in a 77-74 loss in the 1999 championship game.

This one ended just as painfully.

“I can’t believe it’s over right now,” said sophomore Sean Dockery, who had tears in his eyes.

After Shelden Williams and Randolph fouled out, the Blue Devils had no one to stop the 6-foot-10 Okafor inside.

Okafor hit a turnaround basket to cut it to 75-74, then grabbed a rebound off his own miss and scored to put the Huskies ahead to stay. Duke had two chances, but J.J. Redick was stripped on a drive and missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.

Duke also blew a lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship. The Blue Devils led by 10 with about five minutes left, but Maryland rallied for a 95-87 overtime victory.