Cameron Boozer (18 points, eight rebounds) and Isaiah Evans (17 points) led No. 4 Duke to a 67-54 victory against No. 20 Clemson in a key Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.

Cayden Boozer added 12 points for the Blue Devils, who pulled away early in the second half courtesy of a strong defensive performance. Duke (23-2, 12-1 ACC) has won back-to-back games since a last-second loss at rival North Carolina last weekend.

Carter Welling (12 points) and RJ Godfrey (10 points) paced Clemson (20-6, 10-3), which began the week with a chance to move atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Tigers lost two in a row after suffering an upset at home Wednesday vs. Virginia Tech.

Clemson shot 35.1% from the field, including 6-for-24 on 3-pointers.

Cooper Flagg, a star freshman from last season’s Duke team and now a rookie with the Dallas Mavericks, was among those in attendance at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils made 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc for their first double-figure total in that category since Jan. 10 vs. SMU.

Duke scored the first eight points — with five from Evans — of the second half for a 38-26 lead. The margin grew to 52-33, with Clemson shooting 3-for-16 in the first nine minutes of the second half.

Duke made five 3-point shots in the game’s first 15 minutes, while Clemson was 0-for-4 at that juncture. But the Blue Devils were aiming for perimeter production, taking 17 of their first 23 shots from beyond the arc.

Duke stretched its lead to 28-20 on Evans’s 3-pointer, with Clemson calling time-out. The Tigers were within 31-26 by halftime despite 1-for-9 shooting on 3s.

Duke center Patrick Ngongba II, whose status had been in doubt because of a wrist injury, started but played only four first-half minutes after picking up two fouls. He finished with six points in 19 minutes.

–Field Level Media

Sophomore guard Cole Certa set career highs with 37 points and seven 3-pointers on Saturday to help Notre Dame breeze past Georgia Tech for an 89-74 Atlantic Coast Conference victory in South Bend, Ind.

Braeden Shrewsberry added 20 points while Logan Imes had 14 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (12-14, 3-10 ACC), which snapped a five-game losing streak. Carson Towt finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who played without star freshman Jalen Haralson (15.5 points per game) due to a sprained ankle.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. scored 16 points to lead Georgia Tech (11-15, 2-11), which dropped its seventh straight game. Baye Ndongo posted 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Jaeden Mustaf chipped in 14 points and Akai Fleming scored 13.

After building a 12-point halftime lead, Notre Dame pushed the margin to 18 with 15:53 to play as Towt’s layup stamped an 8-0 run. The Fighting Irish took their first 20-point lead on Certa’s layup with 13:06 left.

Georgia Tech got its deficit down to 15 on a Mustaf free throw, but Imes’ 3-pointer began a 9-0 spurt to push the lead to 68-44. Fleming’s 3-pointer stopped the bleeding and ended a 4:57 scoreless drought for the Yellow Jackets.

After Fleming made a pair of foul shots to narrow the deficit to 20, Certa’s 3-pointer and subsequent layup gave the Fighting Irish a 78-53 advantage. Georgia Tech finished the game on a 21-11 run in the lopsided affair.

Reeves scored the game’s first basket to give Georgia Tech its only lead. Shrewsberry hit a 3-pointer to hand Notre Dame a 16-10 lead before six straight Yellow Jackets points knotted the score with 11 minutes left in the first half.

Certa drilled consecutive triples to give the Fighting Irish a 29-20 edge with 7:13 remaining. Notre Dame grabbed a 12-point lead on Towt’s layup.

Certa’s hot shooting continued when he drilled his fifth 3-pointer of the half to give Notre Dame a 45-33 halftime lead. Certa scored 21 first-half points while Shrewsberry had 14 for the Fighting Irish, who connected on 11 of 19 3-point tries before halftime. Reeves’ 14 first-half points paced Georgia Tech.

–Field Level Media

MILAN — Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin returned from injury and tied the record for most goals in women’s Olympic ice hockey as the defending champions reached the semi-finals with a 5-1 win over Germany on Saturday.

Five-time Olympian Poulin missed her team’s plast two games after suffering a knee injury in Canada’s 5-1 win over the Czech Republic on Monday, but returned in style to score her 18th Games goal, equaling the record of fellow Canadian Hayley Wickenheiser.

“Honestly, I just wanted to be back on the ice with the girls,” Poulin said when asked about the record.

“I didn’t think about that. Lucky enough, it went in. It was a great play by our power play. But we just wanted that win and getting ready for the semi.”

Canada saw off Germany with Brianne Jenner and Claire Thompson scoring in the opening period. Sarah Fillier and Blayre Turnbull added to the scoreline before Franziska Feldmeier scored for the Germans, with Poulin finding the net with less than five minutes left.

Canada opened the scoring in the second minute with Jenner finishing off Emma Maltais’ pass in front of the goal to net her first at these Games, and it appeared Germany would be in for a long night.

The Canadians had a power play shortly after taking the lead but the shor-thanded Germans came closest to scoring, rattling off three shots as Canada failed to threaten.

Canada was struggling to break down the German defense when a mistake from goaltender Sandra Abstreiter allowed the defending champions to double their lead. Thompson shot from a distance and the puck sailed through the goalie’s legs.

Canada upped the ante in the second period in terms of shots, but only added a third goal on a power play late with Fillier firing off a quick-release shot from a wide angle that beat Abstreiter and went in off the far post.

Turnbull got the Canadians off to a lightning start in the final period, scoring just 38 seconds in, but they conceded a short-handed goal to give Germany a consolation.

Feldmeier made a solo breakaway from behind her own blue line, outpacing Daryl Watts on her way to the net before beating Canadian goalie Emerance Maschmeyer to give the German fans something to celebrate.

The loudest cheer of the night, however, was reserved for Canada’s captain when she found the net on the power play. Poulin hovered close to the goal, waiting to pounce, and was there to tap in Fillier’s pass.

The United States already is through to the last four after a 6-0 win over Italy, along with Sweden, who beat the Czechs 2-0. Finland faces Switzerland later on Saturday in the last quarterfinal.

Teams will be re-seeded after the quarterfinal matches are done to determine the semifinal pairings.

Reuters, Special to Field Level Media