Evans Shoots No. 6 Duke to 91-87 Victory at Florida State

Saturday, January 3

Tallahassee, FL

3:45 p.m.

Duke University

13-1,2-0ACC

Florida State

7-8,0-2ACC

Duke

Florida St.

Evans Shoots No. 6 Duke to 91-87 Victory at Florida State

1/3/2026 6:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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TALLAHASSE, Fla. – Fueled by a career night from Isaiah Evans, No. 6 Duke (13-1, 2-0 ACC) defeated Florida State (7-8, 0-2 ACC), 91-87, on Saturday at Donald L. Tucker Center. Evans scored a career-high 28 points, highlighted by six three-pointers, to help Duke earn a conference victory in its first road test of the league calendar.

Evans scored his 28 points on a career-high eight field goals, and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Cameron Boozer logged a game-high nine assists, the most by a Blue Devil in any game this season, while also scoring 17 points, grabbing five rebounds and collecting a game-high four steals.

Duke finished with five total players scoring in double-figures, with Evans and Boozer joined by Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr, who each posted 13 points, and Patrick Ngongba II's 10 points. Cayden Boozer tallied six assists, joining his brother, Cameron, to combine for 15 of Duke's 23 total assists.

With the Blue Devils' 23 helpers on their 28 made field goals, Duke finished with at least 20 assists for the seventh game this season and registered a season-high assist rate of 82.1%.

The Blue Devils iced the road victory with key free throws from Cameron Boozer, Evans and Foster. As a team, the Blue Devils went 23-of-25 (.920) from the free-throw line, a season-best shooting performance, including making their first 16 attempts from the charity stripe.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Following a three-pointer on Florida State's first possession, Caleb Foster scored Duke's first points from deep as the shot clock expired. The hosts took four consecutive shots from deep to begin the game, making three of them.
The Seminoles led by one, 9-8, following a triple by Isaiah Evans shortly before the first media timeout of the afternoon. The hosts stayed hot from beyond the arc, starting 5-for-6 on three-pointers to grab an early 17-11 edge.
Dame Sarr connected on his second corner three-pointer of the first half, keeping the Blue Devils within four points, 20-16, after eight minutes of play. Cameron Boozer reached double-figures with just over four minutes before halftime, scoring his 10th point from the free-throw line.
Duke scored nine of the final 14 points in the first half and entered the intermission tied at 42. The Blue Devils took the lead out of the break, courtesy of a corner trifecta by Evans.
Duke's defense forced turnovers on the two of the first three Florida State possessions of the second frame and took a five-point lead, 49-44, after two minutes of action.
A burst of three triples in a stretch spanning just over a minute helped the Seminoles open up a four-point advantage, 57-53 at the 15:40 mark.
Evans caught fire from deep, drilling two straight to keep Duke in front, 65-63. A frenetic sequence was capped with a Foster trifecta with 12:14 on the clock and the Blue Devils remained in front by three, 68-65, at the under-12 break.
The Blue Devils' defense held Florida State without a point for over three minutes and a fast-break bucket by Sarr forced a timeout by the Seminoles with 8:35 on the clock and Duke in front by nine, 74-65.
The hosts responded with seven of the next eight points and Duke called timeout holding a 75-72 advantage.
With Duke still in front by three, Foster sent in a corner triple to push the junior into double-figures with 11 points for the game. Boozer made two key free throws with less than 30 seconds remaining to increase Duke's lead to two possessions.
Following a contested deep make by the Seminoles, Evans calmly sank two from the charity stripe with 12.4 seconds on the timer. Duke secured a defensive stop on the ensuing possession and Foster iced the 91-87 victory with two free throws.

NOTES

Saturday afternoon was the first ACC road game for Duke and the start of a five-game stretch that includes four road contests.
The Blue Devils and Seminoles played the 57th game in the all-time series.
- Duke improves to 46-11 against Florida State.
- The Blue Devils have won 10 of the last 11 and 14 of the last 16 in the series.
Duke is 19-7 when playing on Jan. 3.
- The Blue Devils have won six consecutive, 10 of their last 11, and 18 of the last 21 contests played on the date.
Duke out-rebounded Florida State, 31-24.
- The Blue Devils have out-rebounded their opponent in 11 games this season.
- Florida State entered Saturday's game ranked second in the league for offensive rebounds per game (14.4).
- Duke limited the hosts to just nine offensive boards and finished with a positive margin on the offensive glass (10-9).
As a team, Duke assisted on 23 of its 28 made field goals, an assist percentage of 82.1.
- The Blue Devils have tallied at least 20 helpers in seven games this season.
- With the 82.1 assist percentage, the Blue Devils set a new season high, surpassing their 75.0 assist percentage (24-of-32) vs. Niagara.
The Blue Devils made their first 16 free throws and finished 23-of-25 (.920) from the free-throw line.
Isaiah Evans led the team with 28 points, setting a new career high.
- The sophomore exploded for six triples, including four in the second half. The six three-pointers set a new season high for Evans and matched his career high, set against Auburn on Dec. 4, 2024.
- When Evans makes at least three shots from beyond the arc, Duke is 7-0 this season and 18-0 during Evans' career.
- Evans went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and is 13-for-13 from the charity stripe in ACC action.
Cameron Boozer dished nine assists, setting a new career high. His previous benchmark was seven, set against Texas Tech on Dec. 20, 2025.
- Boozer also scored 17 points, the second most on the team, and went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
- The nine helpers are the most by a Blue Devil in a single game this season.
- Boozer also collected a season-high four steals.
Cayden Boozer tallied six assists, combining with his brother for 15 of Duke's 23 total assists.
Dame Sarr shot 4-of-5 overall, and 3-of-4 from deep, en route to 13 total points.
Caleb Foster connected on three trifectas and posted 13 total points.
- Foster went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and has made three 3-pointers in each of Duke's two ACC games.
- When Foster makes at least three triples, Duke is 3-0 this season and 7-1 in Foster's career.
- The junior guard also brought in six rebounds, matching his career high.
Patrick Ngongba II rounded out Duke's double-digit scoring with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
- The sophomore also added six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal.
- Ngongba II has at least two swats in five of his last six outings.

UP NEXT

No. 6 Duke (13-1, 2-0 ACC) remains on the road, traveling to No. 16 Louisville (11-3, 1-1 ACC).
The Blue Devils and Cardinals tip off at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

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