Duke basketball outlasts shorthanded SMU to stay unbeaten in ACC play
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- Duke overcame early deficits with defense, steals and timely bench scoring.
- Isaiah Evans and Cameron Boozer paced scoring while Dame Sarr anchored defense.
- SMU played shorthanded without Boopie Miller, yet Toombs and Edwards competed.
First came the steal. Then, a screeching dive across the floor. Then, the battle for the ball.
Duke’s Dame Sarr would not be denied on the play, the slender 6-8 freshman knocking the ball away from SMU’s B.J. Edwards. Sarr, like a sprinter coming out of the blocks, made a quick diving move as the ball skittered across midcourt. Beating Edwards for possession, he got the ball down court to Maliq Brown.
It was just the kind of effort and intensity the No. 6 Blue Devils needed Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Shaking off another sluggish start that had them playing from behind after the opening minutes, the Devils worked their way to an 82-75 victory over No. 24 Southern Methodist.
Isaiah Evans had 21 points, Cameron Boozer scored 18 and Patrick Ngongba II tied his career high with 17 points for the Blue Devils (15-1, 4-0 ACC), who have won 26 of their last 27 ACC games.
The Mustangs (12-4 overall, 1-2 ACC) came into Cameron off a loss at Clemson but also mindful of how they had already knocked off North Carolina a week ago. More importantly, they did not have senior guard Boopie Miller, who missed the game with an illness.
Miller was averaging 20.6 points, fourth in the ACC, and playing 34.7 minutes a game. He’s SMU’s floor leader and was the same at Wake Forest before his transfer.
Without Miller, a lot of the ballhandling rested with Edwards, a 6-3 senior who was at Tennessee before moving on to SMU. Edwards finished with 20 points and five assists for the Mustangs but also had six of SMU’s 21 turnovers.
“I thought our guys made the plays necessary to win,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Give credit to SMU. Toombs had a big time game. Edwards, I thought, was really good stepping up with Miller being out.”
It was Sarr’s fierce defense that was factored into Duke slowing Louisville guard Ryan Conwell in the second half Tuesday in taking an 11-point road win. He added more of the same Saturday, using his length and quick-twitch defense against Edwards.
The Mustangs ran their offense efficiently enough to stay close in the second half after flailing behind by 12 early in the half. Jaden Toombs, a 6-10 freshman, continued to make shots -- he had 23 points -- and Duke’s lead was 73-70.
Until an Evans’ 3-pointer. Evans’ swish from left of the key with 1:15 left gave Duke some breathing room, and Cameron Boozer soon followed with two free throws with 42.3 seconds remaining in the game for an eight-point lead.
Corey Washington’s 3-pointer for SMU with 31 seconds showing trimmed the lead, but Evans followed with two free throws with 20 seconds left and then another two with nine seconds showing.
Here are observations from Duke’s win.
Another slow start for Devils
Another game, another slow start for Duke. It’s becoming a trend.
SMU came out of the locker room taking and making shots, knocking down five early for an 11-0 lead. One almost had to take a double-take at the scoreboard. Eleven to nothing.
Duke, meanwhile, had trouble getting anything to drop. There also were some sloppy turnovers. It was a lot like the start at Louisville on Tuesday, when the Devils trailed by nine at halftime before controlling the second half.
Evans finally got Duke started with a 3 with 17:25 left in the half and a 12-2 run later pushed the Devils ahead but it was a slow build.
“We’ve been talking about it every game, about having better starts,” Duke’s Brown said. “As a team that’s something we know we can do, so we’ve got to lock in. The energy we have in the second half, we need to bring to the start of the game.”
SMU became the latest team to shoot better than 50% for the game – 56.6%. Toombs was 10-of-12 from the field and the Mustangs were 7-of-14 on 3’s.
SMU did have 14 first-half turnovers that Duke turned into 16 points. Sarr had three of Duke’s nine steals in the half and finished with four.
New look to the lineup
Scheyer continues to reshape his starting lineup depending on the opponent.
After starting the Boozer brothers with Foster, Evans and Patrick Ngongba for a few games, the Blue Devils had Cameron Boozer, Foster and Evans with Brown and Sarr starting Saturday.
“I think we’re going to have a group that starts differently, and starts differently in the second halves,” Scheyer said. “We have a different team. It’s not like a clear set five. I think that’s a great thing about this team and the thing we have to figure out at the same time.”
Foster, so aggressive in the second half against Louisville, had a slow start and soon came out for Cayden Boozer. Foster played six minutes in the first half and 15 in the game while Boozer made his 34 minutes of playing time effective -- his plus-14 plus/minus rating for the game was the best on the team.
“Cayden Boozer, what he did for us tonight, he completely steadied us,” Scheyer said. “He was, I thought, terrific.”
Sarr took on Edwards as his defensive assignment, and the Devils looked to double up on the SMU guard at times. Edwards had some shaky moments in the first half – Sarr once blocked a shot at the end of the shot clock – but was much better in the second half as the Mustangs stayed close in the final 10 minutes.
“Dame in that first half, man, his defense was loud,” Scheyer said. “That was a heckuva segment, obviously with his activity.”
Remembering 2001 champions
Has it been 25 years? Duke’s 2001 national champions were honored at halftime, conjuring up some hoops memories of their run to the title and 82-72 win over Arizona in the championship game in Minneapolis.
Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Duhon and Carlos Boozer (Cameron and Cayden’s father) were on hand for the reunion. Some looked like they could still throw on a jersey and play.
Jay Williams, who still gets plenty of air time, was the last player to be honored. Then, Mike Krzyzewski. For Coach K and Duke, the 2001 title was the third of five.
“It was a pretty special thing having the 2001 national championship team here,” Scheyer said. “I was at that game, the national championship, but I was in the wrong section. I was in the Arizona section, believe it or not.
“But I remember that team, the ultimate drive-and-kick team, some of the greatest players ever to play college basketball and one of the greatest teams ever to play college basketball.”
Speaking of flashbacks, SMU had not played at Cameron since November 1978, when Duke was ranked No. 1 and won, 86-80.
This story was originally published January 10, 2026 at 4:33 PM.
