Cameron Boozer scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as No. 1 Duke rolled over No. 17 North Carolina in the second half of a 76-61 victory to avenge its only Atlantic Coast Conference loss Saturday night at Durham, N.C.
Maliq Brown racked up 15 points and Isaiah Evans had 11 for Duke (29-2, 17-1 ACC), which was saddled with some makeshift lineups because of some injuries that could be concerning in the coming weeks. The Blue Devils, who also received 10 points from Dame Sarr, head to the ACC tournament with the top seed and riding an eight-game winning streak.
Derek Dixon’s 17 points were tops for North Carolina (24-7, 12-6), which will be the No. 4 seed in the ACC tournament. Henri Veesaar had nine of his 11 points in the first half, and Jarin Stevenson and Seth Trimble both scored 10 points.
Duke played the second half without starting guard Caleb Foster, who left in the opening half with a right foot or ankle injury. Center Patrick Ngongba II didn’t play at all and was on the bench in the second half in a walking boot.
The Tar Heels learned Friday that freshman sensation Caleb Wilson will be out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken thumb in practice. He was expected to be back for Saturday’s game after an injury on his other hand had him out since mid-February.
North Carolina closed within 41-40 in the first minute of the second half, and it was 47-44 shortly after, but the Blue Devils went on a 16-0 run. The outburst was sparked by 3-pointers from Cayden Boozer and Sarr.
North Carolina was stuck in a 10-minute span when it scored only two points as Duke’s advantage reached 69-46.
Duke led 39-34 at halftime, with Cameron Boozer at 12 points and Veesaar at nine. The Blue Devils, buoyed by Brown’s six early points, built a 12-point lead earlier in the half. The Tar Heels used an 8-0 run over less than 40 seconds to help get back in range.
Duke made 11 of 20 shots from 2-point range in the opening half, but the Blue Devils were 4-for-15 on threes.
