On a night when Army alum Mike Krzyzewski was honored by his alma mater, the first school to hire him, his other and more famous team, No. 4 Duke, never trailed and rolled to an easy 114-59 victory on Tuesday night in West Point, N.Y.
Duke (3-0) and Army (1-2) watched an emotional pregame tribute during which a banner was raised to honor Krzyzewski, who attended the game with his wife and daughter.
The Blue Devils then benefited from international freshman Dame Sarr’s breakout performance with 19 points after totaling just 10 points in Duke’s first two games. Sarr shot 6-for-8 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Isaiah Evans chipped in 17 points and Patrick Ngongba added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Standout freshman Cameron Boozer contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Guard Darren Harris added 15 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting and Cayden Boozer tallied 10 points and eight assists.
The Blue Devils set a season high with 114 points, the program’s most since a 118-84 victory over Kentucky on Nov. 6, 2018. Duke scored 65 points in the second half, shot 37-for-65 (56.9%) for the game and never trailed.
Army was led by Jackson Furman’s 20 points, which included 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. Standout guard Kevin McCarthy was held to three points on 1-for-4 shooting. The Black Knights based their hopes on 3-point shooting, knocking down 12 of 49 from long range while shooting 9-for-19 on 2-point attempts.
Army last pulled even at 8-8 on Ryan Curry’s 3-pointer with 17:59 left in the first half. The Black Knights stayed close for most of the first half, pulling within 37-28 on a Furman jump shot with 3:37 left in the half. But Duke finished the half on a 12-2 run and never looked back.
Duke returns to action on Friday against Indiana State, while Army hosts Harvard on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
