Duke didn’t just beat Coastal Carolina on Friday night. It steamrolled it, even while piling up a box score that looked messy in spots.
The Blue Devils committed 22 fouls, turned it over 15 times, missed 15 free throws and watched their leader get disqualified after two technical fouls. None of it mattered in a 113-52 rout that was never close once Duke ripped open a 16-0 start and held Coastal scoreless for the first six minutes.
By halftime, Duke was already sitting on a 54-18 lead. The margin eventually reached 63, and Coastal’s biggest push of the night was only a four-point run late in the first half, trimming a 43-10 deficit to 43-14.
Duke still did plenty of damage in the areas that matter. It got to the foul line 41 times, outrebounded Coastal Carolina 53-27, forced 17 turnovers, blocked nine shots and assisted on 25 of its 38 made field goals. The Blue Devils also played 10 players at least 10 minutes, and all 10 scored at least three points.
Jon Scheyer had plenty to like, but he kept coming back to the defense.
“I thought the main thing was our defense, more consistent, especially in that first half. We want to come at you in waves a little bit. I thought when we subbed, the energy picked up and when we subbed again, the energy continued to pick up and that’s the making of the vision I have for this team.”
That defensive pressure showed up in the numbers. Coastal shot 30% from the field and went 4 for 22 from 3-point range.
The headliner, though, was Patrick Ngongba II. Duke’s center put up 28 points and nine rebounds in just 25 minutes, and he had 24 points with 17:44 left after knocking down a couple of 3-pointers early in the second half. He barely played after that, for obvious reasons.
Ngongba was 10-for-13 from the field and scored six of Duke’s first 16 points, with three of those baskets coming at the rim. He said he knew early that he could work inside.
The outside touch was a bonus.
“The coaches have been telling me to shoot it, so I was trying to do what they were telling me.”
Scheyer liked the way Ngongba attacked the game.
“He impacts winning in so many ways.”
Cayden Boozer was just as influential in a different way. He finished with 12 assists in 22 minutes, along with 11 points and only one turnover.
“Cayden’s passing was incredible,” Scheyer said. “The job he did of when to score and when to pass, I just thought he controlled the game.”
Duke also got a strong bench lift from Caleb Foster, who scored 10 points in the first half and five more in the second. John Blackwell added 15 points, including three layups in the first 90 seconds of the second half. Dame Sarr chipped in 12 points and four of Duke’s 12 steals, while Sebastian Wilkins grabbed 11 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
“Crash every time and take advantage.”
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje had a rough moment late in the first half when he missed a dunk, hung his head and didn’t get back on defense. Scheyer pulled him, and the lesson stuck. Boumtje Boumtje finished with nine points, five rebounds and three blocks.
“We’re coaching him hard,” Scheyer said. “That’s why he came here.
He wants to be great. He’s hard on himself and I want him to continue to work in the game on not being perfect but moving to the nest play.”
Drew Sharnowski did not play. “All part of his return to play,” Scheyer said.
Duke now turns to a tougher test next week against Michigan State in Chicago, Scheyer’s hometown. He said the Blue Devils took something from the Army game and carried it into this one.
“I thought we really responded from the Army game,” Scheyer said. “I thought we took some steps forward.”
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