Duke fans here in the heart of Carolina have reason to crow this morning after the Blue Devils knocked off Butler in the NCAA championship clash last night in Indianapolis.

A defensive battle that went back-and-forth all night long, the Blue Devils made a big stop with less than 10 seconds left and then survived a half-court missile by Butler’s Gordon Hayward to claim the hard-fought 61-59 win.

It was the fourth national title for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski in his 30 years of coaching at the Durham school.

One local resident was there in person. Caroline Young of Vass won tickets to the game through the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills’ 2010 March Madness raffle. Young and three others flew on a private plane to Indianapolis for Monday’s game.

Proceeds from the fundraiser go to the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills, which serves more than 300 children daily at the Southern Pines and Aberdeen sites. Local contributions and special fund-raising provide 75 percent of the funding for the Boys and Girls Club.

This is the second year for the raffle. Last year’s raffle raised $24,000.

Duke’s wins provided back-to-back titles for the state of North Carolina and the ACC. The University of North Carolina won last year’s title, defeating home-state favorite Michigan State in Detroit. It was the fifth time in the last 10 years that an ACC school has claimed the national title.