It wasn’t the prettiest game, as the Duke opened their 2025-2026 season with a “neutral” site matchup against Texas, but despite trailing by one point at halftime, the Blue Devils defeated the Longhorns 75-60 in Charlotte.
Both Duke and Texas struggled from the floor early – shooting a combined 17.6% from the floor. Then Blue Devils’ sophomore Isaiah Evans got hot – making five of six baskets, including four of five from three – pushing the Blue Devils to a nine point lead (23-14) with 8:51 remaining in the period. But the Longhorns weren’t going down without a fight. They closed the first half outscoring Duke 16-6 – heading to the locker room with a one point lead (33-32).
The Blue Devils opened the second half with a 8-0 run, led by freshman Cameron Boozer who was held scoreless in the first half. Texas cut the deficit to three with 9:33 remaining, before an 8-0 Duke run put the game out of reach for good.
“Scheyer challenged me at halftime,” Cameron Boozer said. “He said that I played soft in the first half, which you know, was true. Second half I had to change my mentality.”
“I thought we stepped up and made some big-time winning plays,” head coach Jon Scheyer said after the win. “Start of the second half, for me, was a key moment. The way we responded coming out of halftime, that group we had in, [Texas] didn’t score for a little while. The 10-0 run was big. I thought Isaiah [Evans], his efficiency, was high level. He creates so much gravity where guys are concerned with him, that opened a lot up for our team. And then for Cam [Boozer], first game as a freshman, doesn’t have his best stuff. He comes out in the second half and has 15 [points] and [13 rebounds] on an off night.”
The Blue Devils will be back at Cameron Indoor Saturday to take on Western Carolina at 1:30pm.
Postgame Notes:
- With the win, Duke improves to 6-0 in the all-time series against Texas.
- Duke outscored Texas 11-6 in fast break points, aided by an 8-4 edge in steals.
- Isaiah Evans set a new career high, finishing the contest with 23 points. The sophomore shot 7-of-13 from the field, highlighted by a blistering 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half.
- Cameron Boozer posted a double-double in his first collegiate game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, while adding a team-high three steals.
- Patrick Ngongba II earned his second double-digit point performance of his career, finishing with 10. He had a career-high 12 versus North Carolina on March 14.
- In his first college game, Dame Sarr collected eight points and two steals, and was second on the team with five boards.
