Versatile Duke Basketball Energy on Display in Preseason Debut Victory

It might take a while for the ultra-talented Blue Devils on Jon Scheyer’s 5th Duke basketball group to take their go-to specific functions.As a system, the early identity appears to focus on extreme-energy size and flexibility, as evidenced in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night en path to a 102-62 preseason skirmish success over previous Blue Devil assistant Evan Bradds and his going to Belmont Bruins.

S/O Coach Bradds pic.twitter.com/27WAmjgEub– Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 8, 2026

Throughout the very first 4 minutes of action, heaven Devils developed a 13-7 lead through an extensive attack that consisted of the very first board and putback points from 17-year-old beginning freshman forward/center Joaquim Boumtje and, simply minutes later on, a spashed 3 from the 7-foot-2, 250-pounder.In his very first 7 minutes on the flooring as a Blue Devil, Boumtje gathered 10 points and got 4 boards, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3 throughout that stretch. And midway through the very first half, Duke led the Bruins, 22-12.

LOCKSMITH pic.twitter.com/AvKWqnPwtJ– Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB)October 9, 2026

Sophomore wing Dame Sarr then took pleasure in another flurry of his own, as the returning Italian starter headed into the locker space connected along with Boumtje with their game-high 14 points each at halftime. Senior transfer guard and fellow starter John Blackwell, who drained pipes a 3 from the corner at the halftime buzzer to top off a 10-run, wound up with 12 points for heaven Devils throughout the very first 20 minutes of action.With guard Caleb Foster (ankle) and forward Drew Scharnowski (knee) out of commission for the time being, Scheyer used a 10-deep rotation in the very first half, and his group assembled a 49-25 benefit. As a group before the break, Duke shot 16-for-33 from the field, 5-for-14 beyond the arc, and 12-13 at the charity stripe.

very first half energy pic.twitter.com/6GMGbHSGep– Duke Men’s Basketball(@DukeMBB )October 9, 2026

At that point, the jumbo-sized yet remarkably uptempo Blue Devils had actually outrebounded small Belmont, 22-15, while tallying 9 takes and 4 blocks.Duke Basketball Continues to Overpower Bruins in Second Half. The Bruins played even with heaven Devils throughout the very first 6 minutes of the 2nd half.

After beginning sophomore guard Cayden Boozer knocked down a 3 before right away likewise coming up a take and shift dunk to press the lead to 30 at 69-39 with 13:27 to play in the contest, Duke’s firepower and strength as soon as again started showing too much for Belmont to include and counter anywhere near frequently adequate to posture a substantial danger.

missed this energy pic.twitter.com/5bXHtxGRZA– Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB)October 9, 2026

In what was the team’s very first preseason getaway versus a challenger, 4 Blue Devils reached double-digit points: Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje(19 points

, 7-for-11 from the field, 7 rebounds, 2 takes, 2 blocks ), Dame Sarr (19 points, 2-for-3 from downtown, 9-for-10 at the nasty line, 6 rebounds, 3 helps, 2 takes), John Blackwell(17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 helps, one take ), Cayden Boozer( 12 points, 4 rebounds, one help, 2 takes, one block), and freshman guard Deron Rippey Jr. (11 points, 4-for-6 from the field, 2 rebounds, 2 helps, one take).

Next up on the Duke basketball preseason slate is a home exhibit video game versus Tennessee on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. ET(ACC Network ).

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