No. 6 Duke Defeats Western Carolina, 95-54, in Home Opener

Saturday, November 8

Durham, N.C.

1:30 p.m.

Duke University

2-0,0-0ACC

Western Carolina

0-2,0-0SoCon

Western Caro.

Duke

No. 6 Duke Defeats Western Carolina, 95-54, in Home Opener

11/8/2025 4:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's basketball won its 44th consecutive home opener, defeating Western Carolina, 95-54, Saturday, Nov. 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils were led by Cameron Boozer, who posted 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Cayden Boozer, Maliq Brown and Patrick Ngongba II all reached double-figures as well, scoring 14, 10 and 10, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke's first points came from Cameron Boozer, who powered his way to the bucket through contact and converted the three-point play with 18:14 on the clock. Maliq Brown slammed home an alley-oop from Cayden Boozer, pushing Duke's lead to 8-4.
The Blue Devils held the Catamounts scoreless for seven minutes and used a 17-point scoring run to push the margin to nearly 20, 25-6. The visitors scored nine of the next 13 points, pulling the score back to 29-15 with 7:08 before halftime.
Duke took a 45-21 lead into halftime after limiting Western Carolina to just 7-of-34 (.206) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Caleb Foster scored five quick points to push the lead to 52-23, triggering a Western Carolina timeout after just two minutes of action in the second half. Patrick Ngongba II became the second Blue Devil in double-figures, converting two free throws to give the sophomore 10 points.
Cameron Boozer's second triple of the night led to another timeout by the Catamounts, with Duke in front, 67-33, with 12:12 remaining. A dunk and transition three-pointer by the freshman pushed him over 20 points, and extended the Blue Devils' lead to 40 halfway through the second half.
The Blue Devils maintained their lead as the game wound down, with the 95-54 victory punctuated by buckets from Jack Scott and Ifeanyi Ufochukwu.

NOTES

The victory marked head coach Jon Scheyer's 91st with the Blue Devils.
Duke has won its last 44 home openers. Since the 1965-66 season, the Blue Devils are 60-1 in their first home game of the season.
Dating back to last season, Duke has won 18 consecutive games at home.
The Blue Devils own a 49-3 (.942) record when playing at home in Scheyer's four seasons as head coach.
With the win, Duke improves to 4-0 in the all-time series against Western Carolina.
Duke moves to 4-0 when playing on Nov. 8.
Duke registered 21 assists on 30 made shots, while forcing 14 Western Carolina turnovers and limiting the visitors to just nine assisted baskets.
On the glass, Duke won the rebounding battle, 51-42.
- The Blue Devils secured 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 19 second-chance points.
Duke swept the specialty stats, leading in points off turnovers (21-7), points in the paint (40-28), second-chance points (19-8), fast-break points (20-8) and bench points (42-8).
The Blue Devils limited Western Carolina to 7-of-34 (.206) from the field in the first half.
Duke's defense held Western Carolina to 54 points
- The Catamounts entered the game averaging 63.0 points per game.
Duke went 25-of-33 (.758) from the free throw line.
- After averaging 15.2 made free throws last season, so far this season the Blue Devils have made 22 (vs. Texas) and 25 (vs. Western Carolina).
Duke tallied two scoring runs of at least 10 points, ripping off a 17-point burst in the first half and adding a 12-0 run in the second half.
The 41-point margin of victory was Duke's largest in a regular-season game since defeating Illinois, 110-67, Feb 22, at Madison Square Garden.
- The Blue Devils have won seven games by at least 40 points under Scheyer.
Cameron Boozer eclipsed 20 points for the first time in his Duke career, finishing with 25 on 8-of-15 from the field. The freshman connected on a team-high four triples and added a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
- Boozer also brought in eight rebounds and dished five assists.
Cayden Boozer scored 14 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the field, while also going 5-for-7 from the free throw line.
- The freshman shared the team lead in assists, with five, while also bringing in seven rebounds.
- Boozer finished the game with a game-high +/- of +32.
Maliq Brown added 10 points, his first double-digit performance as a Blue Devil and 26th in his career.
- Brown shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including draining a three-pointer in the second half.
Patrick Ngongba II scored 10 points for the second consecutive game, shooting 4-for-6 from the field, while also securing a season-high seven rebounds.
Caleb Foster scored nine points, distributed four assists and matched his career high with six caroms.
Isaiah Evans posted seven points, fueled by a perfect 5-for-5 day at the free throw line. The sophomore has now made 10 straight from the charity stripe, a new career long.
- Evans set a new career standard with six rebounds and equaled his career-high in steals with two.

QUOTES

"Really appreciate the crowd and the fans, first and foremost. Our students, the way they showed out, I never take that for granted. That means a lot. I thought we did some good things, and then there's a lot we have to clean up. I thought tonight, our depth really showed. The minutes, I didn't know how it would go tonight exactly. We had the foul trouble in the first half, and I thought collectively, we did a really good job. Our defense only gave up six points in the first 11 minutes. I thought at the end of the first half, we let up a little bit. But overall, we're growing. We're building. I'm proud of this team, and we've got to continue to embrace where we are and understand what we have to do better. A lot of it is really simple things, to be honest, and then get back to work." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
"I think we kind of relaxed a little bit. We have some things to clean up, for sure, but overall, a good game." - Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer
"I feel like we have a really good relationship, especially since he's been here for three years and he understands the highs and lows of the freshmen. So, just having someone like (Caleb) as a mentor has been really important for me to stay patient." - Duke freshman guard Cayden Boozer about his relationship with junior guard Caleb Foster

UP NEXT

No. 6 Duke visits Army West Point on Veterans Day.
The Blue Devils and Black Knights clash at 7 p.m., at Christl Arena. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

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