Isaiah Evans scored 23 points, Cameron Boozer had a big second half and finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds as No. 6 Duke overcame a sluggish start to beat Texas 75-60 at the Dick Vitale Invitational on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils got 10 points from Patrick Ngongba and used a stifling defense to limit Texas to 32% shooting and force 16 turnovers.
Dailyn Swain had 16 points, while Jordan Pope and Matas Vokietaitis each had 15 to lead Texas in coach Sean Miller’s debut.
Boozer, one of the nation’s top high school recruits, was 0 for 7 from the field and held scoreless in the first half with three rebounds as Duke trailed 33-32 at the break.
But Boozer, the son of former Duke star Carlos Boozer, made his presence felt in the second half getting to the foul line 12 times and converting nine free throws. He also had three steals, two assists and a block in an all-around effort reminiscent of Cooper Flagg a year ago.
Duke, which lost five players from last year’s team including Flagg to the NBA draft, looked like a team finding its way early on.
Nearly seven minutes into the game the Blue Devils trailed 7-3 and were 1 of 10 from the field with two turnovers.
But that changed in hurry as Evans, who played high school basketball just north of Charlotte, began to heat up with four 3-pointers helping the Blue Devils open a 26-17 lead. Texas clawed back to take the lead at halftime with Evans on the bench for an extended stretch.
Honoring Dickie V
An emotional video introduction about Vitale’s legacy and fight against cancer narrated by former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was aired on the Spectrum Center videoboard before the game, bringing the 86-year-old commentator to tears as he looked on from press row.
As Krzyzewski finished with “you are awesome with a capital V’ the crowd roared and gave Vitale a standing ovation.
Up next
Texas: Hosts Lafayette on Saturday.
Duke: Hosts Western Carolina on Saturday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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