Duke cruised in their second game of the season 113-52 behind 28 points and 9 rebounds from junior Patrick Ngongba.
How the Game Was Won/Lost
Duke began the game with yet another killshot—this time scoring the game’s first 16 points, effectively rendering any questions regarding the outcome moot. Duke wasn’t finished. With the score 30-10 at the 9:32 mark of the first half, Duke added another kill-shot in the form of a 14-0 run. Patrick Ngongba was a monster in the paint and even showcased his budding perimeter game, hitting 2 of his 3 3-point attempts. Duke’s offense ran through the talented junior, and he paid it off by hitting 10 of his 13 shots. Jon Blackwell didn’t have a strong game against Army but hit 2 of his 5 3-pointers and hit on a flurry of drives to the basket to begin the second half that opened things up for him.
The game was virtually decided in the first half, which allowed Duke to coach against human nature once again—and once again it was necessary. The first half, even with the disparity in points, Duke was still very sloppy, committing 11 first-half turnovers. To their credit the Blue Devils were much more precise in the second half, only committing for in the second stanza. The second half saw Duke still in attack mode, scoring a whopping 59 points in the half after scoring 54 in the first. Sophomore Cayden Boozer dished 12 assists to just 1 turnover while notching a double-double with 11 points. John Blackwell and Caleb Foster contributed 15 points each for the Blue Devils, while Dame Sarr added 12 points.
In addition to turnovers in the first half, free throw shooting in the second half was a sore spot in an other wise great performance. The Blue Devils shot just 9-18 in the second half from the line, a stat to keep an eye on going forward.
By the Numbers
| Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OR-DR | REB | PF | AST | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Ngongba II | 25 | 10-13 | 2-3 | 6-10 | 3-6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28 |
| John Blackwell | 22 | 5-9 | 2-5 | 3-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Dame Sarr | 22 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 4-8 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| Cayden Boozer | 22 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje | 19 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 4-6 | 0-5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| Caleb Foster | 17 | 5-7 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Deron Rippey Jr. | 17 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Bryson Howard | 10 | 2-6 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Sebastian Wilkins | 24 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Cameron Williams | 13 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Maxime Meyer | 5 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Theodosiou | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Arnold | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DUKE TOTAL | 200 | 38-62 | 11-22 | 26-41 | 14-39 | 53 | 22 | 25 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 113 |
Player of the Game:
Patrick Ngongba is the obvious player of the game, scoring a career-high 28 points and pulling down 9 rebounds, but Cayden Boozer gets the nod for honorable mention, dishing 12 assists to just 1 turnover, netting his first double-double, and scoring 11 points. The sophomore guard also added 2 steals.
What We Learned About Duke
Takeaways
- Duke will lean on the older players, while the younger players adjust
- The freshmen still play like freshmen, and that’s ok
- Is free throw shooting going to be an issue? We’ll know soon
- Big Pat is cementing himself as a go-to scoring option and has stayed out of foul trouble so far
What Comes Next
Duke will face their first true test of the season traveling to Chicago on November 10th to face the Michigan State Spartans, currently ranked 6th in the nation.
Final Thoughts
While the showing against Coastal Carolina was much better, there are still plenty of teaching points and things to work on for Jon Scheyer’s team. This team will have to be much better holding on to the basketball and not afford extra possessions for their opponents. There are still some freshmen habits that have to be broken, a lot of which come with the jump in levels. The best part for Duke is that Duke isn’t dependent upon the freshman—there’s enough there for Jon Scheyer that he can bring his young players along and develop them without their mistakes being detrimental to the win column.
