Cameron Boozer's 18-point double-double helps Duke hold off Kansas

NEW YORK (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds, twin brother Cayden made a couple of big second-half baskets and fifth-ranked Duke outlasted No. 24 Kansas, defeating the undermanned Jayhawks 78-66 on Tuesday night in the annual Champions Classic.

Isaiah Evans scored 16 points and Patrick Ngongba had 13 on 4-of-4 shooting for the Blue Devils (5-0).

The Jayhawks (3-2) were still without their best player, freshman Darryn Peterson, the nation's top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year's NBA draft, because of a lingering hamstring injury. Peterson has missed three consecutive games since hurting himself during a shootaround.

Peterson's absence was enough to make a difference at Madison Square Garden even though the Blue Devils were less consistent than in their previous four victories. Kansas rattled Duke with some fast-break points early before getting worn down by foul trouble and a depth disparity.

All five Kansas starters had at least one foul and three had two apiece in the first half, and Duke closed it out on a 17-5 run to lead by eight. The Jayhawks trimmed their deficit to 67-64 on Melvin Council Jr.'s 3-pointer with 4:59 left.

The foul trouble showed in some tired legs. Flory Bidunga picked up his fourth with more than seven minutes left, and Bryson Tiller fouled out with 3:04 remaining.

Evans hit a 3 coming out of the under-4-minute timeout, and Cameron Boozer scored four of the eight points in an 8-0 run by Duke to pull away.

Tre White tried at every turn to keep Kansas in the game, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Up next

Kansas: Faces Notre Dame on Monday night in each team's opening game of the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas.

Duke: Hosts Niagara on Friday night.

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