Nine takeaways from Duke basketball exhibition win vs Belmont

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke basketball took down Belmont 102-62 in a Thursday night scrimmage at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It was the first of three preseason games for Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils. Duke has two remaining exhibitions against Tennessee (Oct. 20) and at Kansas (Oct. 25) and officially opens its 2026-27 season on Nov. 2 at home against Army.

“We have a lot of things we’re still figuring out with our team and so to play somebody else was important,” head coach Jon Scheyer said after the win. “… They tested us in a lot of different ways with their movement and cutting on offense and some of the things they did defensively. I was just proud of our effort overall. I thought we had a really good effort. The rebounding, I think, showed up in that. I thought we were flying around. I’m not going to go through all the things we have to do better. I’m going to watch the film and there’s a lot of it, but this helped me get to know our team a little bit better today.”

Here are nine takeaways from the Blue Devils win over the Bruins:

Cayden Boozer, Dame Sarr, John Blackwell, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Patrick Ngongba II made up the starting five for the Blue Devils. Duke rolled with the same five to open the second half.

Dame Sarr and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje scored 19 points apiece to lead the Blue Devils in scoring. Three other Blue Devils finished in double-figures in John Blackwell (17), Cayden Boozer (12) and Deron Rippey Jr. Nine of Boozer’s points came in the second half.

Duke finished the night shooting 53.1% from the field and 44% from 3.

The Blue Devils finished the night 23-of-27 from the charity stripe. Perhaps most notable was Dame Sarr’s 9-of-10 night from the line, more than he took in any game last season. Sarr drew six fouls on the night while John Blackwell and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje each drew four.

Patrick Ngongba II and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje pulled down seven boards to lead the Blue Devils. Dame Sarr and Sebastian Wilkins each pulled down six, both getting four on the offensive glass.

Duke pressed Belmont and the pressure caught up to the Bruins, who finished the night with 17 turnovers. The Blue Devils turned those 17 turnovers into 20 points.

Sebastian Wilkins was the first player off the bench for the Blue Devils, checking in for Boumtje Boumtje at the 16:19 mark. Deron Rippey Jr. was the second to check in for Duke, coming in at the 15:51 mark for Cayden Boozer.

Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje’s 19 points led scorers and the five freshmen on the Blue Devils roster. Outside of Boumtje Boumtje, Deron Rippey Jr. also scored in double-figures with 11 points with two rebounds and two assists across 22 minutes of action. Bryson Howard scored five with a board and an assist in 14 minutes while Maxime Meyer added four, both dunks, and four boards in 13 minutes. Cameron Williams added two points and saw the court for 13 minutes, coming back from a virus that cost him 14 pounds.

As Jon Scheyer hinted at ACC Tipoff, and as expected this time of the year, Duke’s offense is a far cry from what it will look like as the season goes on. The Blue Devils finished the night with 16 turnovers, with Belmont scoring 20 points off of them.

Cayden Boozer got the start as PG1 and Deron Rippey Jr. was the second sub off the bench for Boozer, with each playing 22 minutes. John Blackwell spent some time running the point for the Blue Devils, too. It comes as the Blue Devils are without Caleb Foster through the preseason with an ankle injury. Foster was on the bench with a boot on his right foot.

Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Nine takeaways from Duke basketball exhibition win vs Belmont