By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Evans scored 21 points and had a critical 3-pointer with 1:15 left to help No. 6 Duke beat No. 24 SMU 82-75 on Saturday.
Evans slipped to the left side for the 3-pointer off a feed from freshman star Cam Boozer to make it 76-70, a repeat of the play that sent Duke past Florida when he hit a late 3 here in December.
Patrick Ngongba II tied his career high in scoring with 17 points for Duke (15-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Boozer had 18 points — including muscling up his own interior basket to give Duke a 73-68 lead shortly before Evans’ big shot.
Duke shot 49% and won its 25th straight home game.
Jaden Toombs had 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting to lead the Mustangs (12-4, 1-2), who started the week by entering the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since the end of the 2016-17 season before losing at Clemson on Wednesday.
The Mustangs had to play this one without leading scorer Boopie Moller, a 20.6-point scorer who was a game-time decision because of illness.
But SMU scored the game’s first 11 points and gave Duke fits all day, shooting 56.6% and thrice getting within one possession in the final 4 1/2 minutes. The Mustangs’ biggest problem was turnovers; they had 21 that led to 21 points for the Blue Devils.
At halftime, Duke marked the 25th anniversary of the program’s 2001 NCAA championship, with former NBA players Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy and Jay Williams joining retired Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski at midcourt during the presentation. Boozer’s twin sons, Cam and Cayden, both play for Duke.
Up next
SMU: The Mustangs host Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
Duke: The Blue Devils make their first cross-country ACC trip when they visit California on Wednesday.