No. 2 Duke Beats Army 84-50 as Sarr Scores 16 in Season Opener

No. 2 Duke beat Army 84-50 on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Dame Sarr scored 16 points on a perfect shooting night, and Duke won its season opener for the 27th straight year.

Sarr made all five of his field goal attempts and all six of his free throws. Freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje added 15 points in his college debut, with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. At 17, born in May 2009, he is the youngest player in Division I, the Associated Press reported. Patrick Ngongba II had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Duke opened with a 12-0 run and held Army without a field goal for nearly the first six minutes. The Blue Devils led 33-18 at halftime despite missing all nine of their first half three point attempts. They opened the second half with 11 straight points to lead 44-18, gave back a 12-0 Army run built on four three pointers, and then pulled away for good.

Kevin McCarthy scored 17 points for Army and hit four three pointers. Army committed 24 turnovers.

The numbers behind a quiet blowout

Duke scored 50 points in the paint against 20 for Army, and 25 fast break points against 6. The Blue Devils turned Army's 24 turnovers into 29 points and collected 16 steals. Duke shot 49 percent from the field and just 4 of 22 from three.

The one streak that wobbled survived. Cayden Boozer hit a three pointer about three minutes into the second half, extending Duke's national best run of games with at least one made three to 1,303.

It was also Duke's 45th straight home opening win, the Fayetteville Observer reported. All 12 Duke players who entered the game scored.

Why it matters

The opener showed Duke's shape for this season: size inside, pressure defense and depth, on a night its outside shooting failed. Army, which finished 8 of 30 from three, never had the shooting to turn its one second half run into a game.

What happens next

Duke hosts Coastal Carolina at Cameron Indoor on Thursday, November 5. Army hosts Mount Saint Mary on Thursday night.

Free throws and depth

Duke outscored Army 22-6 at the free throw line, the Associated Press reported, and Sarr scored nine of his 16 points after halftime, finishing 5 for 5 from the field and 6 for 6 at the line, according to 247Sports. Boumtje Boumtje tacked on three blocked shots to his debut line. Army's one real weapon was the three pointer, four of them from McCarthy, but the Black Knights shot 8 of 30 from deep as a team and gave the ball away 24 times, which ended any chance of a second half argument.