Cameron Boozer, No. 3 Duke use second-half surge to down Lipscomb
- - Cameron Boozer, No. 3 Duke use second-half surge to down Lipscomb
Field Level MediaDecember 17, 2025 at 6:03 AM
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Dec 16, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) shoots over Lipscomb Bisons center Charlie Williams (33) during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images (Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images)
Cameron Boozer piled up 26 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 3 Duke hold off upset-minded Lipscomb 97-73 on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.
Boozer shot 10 of 17 from the floor, was a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe, and also dished out three assists for the Blue Devils (11-0). Isaiah Evans added 16 points, Darren Harris and Maliq Brown each scored 11 points apiece off the bench, and starter Patrick Ngongba had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Grant Asman scored 18 points for the Bisons (6-5), while Mateo Esmeraldo tallied 14 points and eight assists.
Duke jumped out to a 10-0 lead -- an early stretch highlighted by Boozer assisting on a dunk by Ngongba -- but then played sloppily for the rest of the first half. By halftime, the Blue Devils had already turned the ball over a season-high 16 times. Duke finished the game with 22 turnovers, the most in a single game since Jon Scheyer became the head coach in 2022. Lipscomb scored 27 points off those turnovers.
The Bisons led by as much as 10 points in the first half after a 12-2 run that featured five points from Esmeraldo. He also assisted on a 3-pointer for Charlie Williams, who finished with 11 points.
Duke eventually charged back and closed the half on a 17-8 run, capped off by a tip-in basket from Boozer, to take a three-point advantage heading into intermission, 48-45. Sparked by a dunk from Boozer, Duke broke off a 33-9 run in the second half to take a 28-point lead with under three minutes to play.
Despite Lipscomb's first-half surge and upset-minded effort, one reason why Duke stayed ahead for the majority of the game was its dominance on the glass. The Blue Devils won the rebounding margin 55-21, and turned 20 offensive boards into 26 second-chance points. The Bisons, meanwhile, grabbed just three of their own misses.
The Blue Devils will have a stiffer challenge on Saturday when they face No. 19 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden in New York.
--Field Level Media
Source: “AOL Sports”
