Cameron Boozer seizes control in second half as No. 1 Duke wears down TCU

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Cameron Boozer scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to help lead No. 1 Duke past No. 9 TCU for an 81-58 victory in a second-round East Region matchup on Saturday.

Isaiah Evans added 17 points and Dame Sarr scored 14 for Duke (34-2), which advanced to the Sweet 16 against the winner of No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 St. John’s. Boozer added a game-high 11 rebounds while Maliq Brown finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils, who outscored TCU by 19 points in the second half.

Micah Robinson led TCU (23-12) with 18 points, followed by Xavier Edmonds’ 12. The Horned Frogs were outrebounded 42-25 for the game, but 24-14 during the second half.

Trailing by four at halftime, TCU opened the second half on a 6-0 run — including Brock Harding’s behind-the-back assist to Robinson — forcing Duke’s timeout with 16:11 remaining.

After Jayden Pierre’s layup tied the score at 44, Cayden and Cameron Boozer each completed a 3-point play and Nikolas Khamenia laced a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 53-44 lead at the 11:48 mark.

Harding’s triple stopped the run, but Sarr’s stepback 3-pointer gave Duke its first double-digit lead at 57-47.

TCU head coach Jamie Dixon picked up a technical foul with 8:57 left, leading to Cayden Boozer’s two free throws and Sarr’s third 3-pointer that opened up a 64-50 Blue Devils lead.

Cameron Boozer’s dunk and subsequent layup pushed the margin to 18.

The Horned Frogs went nearly five minutes without scoring before Pierre’s jumper cut Duke’s lead to 70-52 with 4:58 remaining. Brown’s dunk extended the lead to 22, icing the Blue Devils victory.

To a warm ovation from the Duke-heavy crowd, Patrick Ngongba II came off the bench early after a foot injury kept him out for five games. He made his first basket at the 15:29 mark of the first half, giving the Blue Devils a 9-7 lead.

TCU went ahead, 12-9, on Robinson’s five straight points before Evans’ triple stamped a 10-3 Duke spurt. Evans scored 11 straight for the Blue Devils, including a four-point play to give Duke a 27-22 lead.

After Brown’s dunk put Duke ahead by eight, TCU trimmed its deficit to two on Tanner Toolson’s corner trey with 1:12 remaining. Duke led 38-34 at halftime thanks to Evans’ 13 first-half points.

–Jack Batten, Field Level Media