No. 6 Duke recovers from slow start, defeats No. 24 SMU
Isaiah Evans scored 21 points while hitting clutch second-half 3-pointers as No. 6 Duke fended off short-handed No. 24 SMU for an 82-75 victory Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.
Cameron Boozer compiled 18 points and seven rebounds, Patrick Ngongba II posted 17 points and Cayden Boozer notched 12 points as the Blue Devils (15-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) recovered from an early double-figure deficit.
SMU (12-4, 1-2), which has dropped consecutive games since knocking off then-No. 12 North Carolina last weekend and vaulted into this week's Top 25, played without leading scorer Boopie Miller (20.6 points per game), who was out with illness.
Jaden Toombs had 15 of his 23 points in the first half, B.J. Edwards finished with 20 points and Corey Washington and Jaron Pierre Jr. each had 11 points for the Mustangs, who committed 21 turnovers without their point guard.
Evans hit two 3-pointers in the first minute of the second half as Duke extended its lead to 47-35. SMU didn't make a field goal for more than three minutes to begin the second half.
Yet Duke stalled on offense as SMU closed within 69-64 with six minutes remaining and inched closer on two Washington free throws. Two Ngongba foul shots with 4:13 to go gave Duke its first points in almost four minutes.
After a back-and-forth stretch, Toombs hit a jumper to make it 73-70 before Evans drained a 3-pointer with 1:15 on the clock. Cameron Boozer's two free throws stretched the margin to 78-70.
Duke led 51-35 at halftime, but SMU shot 57.7% from the field before the break. That included 4-for-7 shooting on 3s.
The Mustangs, who lost Wednesday night at Clemson, broke out to leads of 11-0 and 13-3, but a scoring drought of more than five minutes later in the half shifted the momentum as Duke built a 35-25 advantage.
The Blue Devils benefitted from 14 SMU first-half turnovers by turning them into 16 points. They also outscored the Mustangs 10-1 on free throws. Caleb Foster, one of the key players when Duke won earlier in the week at No. 20 Louisville, was scoreless in the opening half on 0-for-4 shooting.