Cameron Boozer, No. 3 Duke use second half surge to down Lipscomb

Cameron Boozer piled up 26 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 3 Duke hold off an 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 undefeated Blue Devils (11-0). Isaiah Evans added 16 points, Darren Harris and Maliq Brown each scored 11 points apiece, and 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 would finish the game with 22 turnovers, the most in a single game since Jon Scheyer became the head coach in 2022. Lipscomb would score 27 points off those Duke 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 would finish 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. 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.