Dame Sarr scored 16 points and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje added 15 to lead No. 2 Duke to an 84-50 romp over Army to begin the season Monday night in Durham, N.C.
Patrick Ngongba II had 10 points and seven rebounds to help Duke win its season opener for the 27th consecutive year.
Kevin McCarthy hit four 3-point shots on his way to 17 points for Army, which was charged with 24 turnovers.
Duke led 33-18 at halftime despite going 0-for-9 from 3-point range; Army went 2-for-15 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils began the second half with the first 11 points before the Black Knights responded with a 12-0 run, using four 3-point baskets.
Duke’s nation-leading streak of 1,302 games with at least one 3-point basket might have been in jeopardy, but Cayden Boozer swished a 3 from the left wing about three minutes into the second half to extend that string.
In the first half, it took Duke less than 2 1/2 minutes to build a 10-0 lead, with Army calling for timeout. The Black Knights didn’t score until the 15:34 mark, on a free throw, and their first field goal came with 14:11 left in the half.
The would-be drubbing took a pause when Duke was held to one field goal for a stretch of about 9 1/2 minutes before Sarr’s 3-point play when the Blue Devils turned a turnover into a fast break.
Army was charged with 14 first-half turnovers and used three timeouts during the half. The Blue Devils held a 9-2 edge on free throws in the first half, when they collected 17 points off turnovers and scored 24 points in the paint.
Army finished 8 of 30 from 3-point range, and Duke was only 4 of 22.
–Field Level Media
