Cameron Boozer (18 points, eight rebounds) and Isaiah Evans (17 points) led No. 4 Duke to a 67-54 victory against No. 20 Clemson in a key Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.
Cayden Boozer added 12 points for the Blue Devils, who pulled away early in the second half courtesy of a strong defensive performance. Duke (23-2, 12-1 ACC) has won back-to-back games since a last-second loss at rival North Carolina last weekend.
Carter Welling (12 points) and RJ Godfrey (10 points) paced Clemson (20-6, 10-3), which began the week with a chance to move atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Tigers lost two in a row after suffering an upset at home Wednesday vs. Virginia Tech.
Clemson shot 35.1% from the field, including 6-for-24 on 3-pointers.
Cooper Flagg, a star freshman from last season’s Duke team and now a rookie with the Dallas Mavericks, was among those in attendance at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils made 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc for their first double-figure total in that category since Jan. 10 vs. SMU.
Duke scored the first eight points — with five from Evans — of the second half for a 38-26 lead. The margin grew to 52-33, with Clemson shooting 3-for-16 in the first nine minutes of the second half.
Duke made five 3-point shots in the game’s first 15 minutes, while Clemson was 0-for-4 at that juncture. But the Blue Devils were aiming for perimeter production, taking 17 of their first 23 shots from beyond the arc.
Duke stretched its lead to 28-20 on Evans’s 3-pointer, with Clemson calling time-out. The Tigers were within 31-26 by halftime despite 1-for-9 shooting on 3s.
Duke center Patrick Ngongba II, whose status had been in doubt because of a wrist injury, started but played only four first-half minutes after picking up two fouls. He finished with six points in 19 minutes.
