March 13, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) shoots while Clemson Tigers forward Nick Davidson (11) and forward Chase Thompson (3) defend in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images CHARLOTE — Cameron Boozer had 24 points, 14 rebounds and got a boost from his twin brother, Cayden Boozer and others as top-ranked Duke beat Clemson 73-61 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals Friday night.
Top-seeded Duke will have a chance to repeat as tournament champions after a strong defense against No. 5 Clemson.
Duke (31-2) advances to the first semifinal against No. 10 second-seeded Virginia (29-4), which won 84-62 over Miami in the title game Saturday night.
Cayden Boozer’s season-high 16 points and Nikolas Khamenia’s season-high-tying 14 points helped the injury-riddled Blue Devils maintain a double-digit lead over the final 23 minutes.
Duke is entering the tournament without starting pitchers Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II due to foot injuries. Clemson lost Carter Welling to a season-ending knee injury earlier this week.
RJ Godfrey’s 18 points paced Clemson, 24-10, which shot 32.7% from the floor. Jestin Porter scored 12 points and Ace Buckner added 11. The Tigers were looking for their third win in as many days after beating Wake Forest on Wednesday and beating North Carolina 80-79 on Thursday.
Duke won despite a tough shooting night from Isaiah Evans, who had six points on 1-for-9 from the field (0-for-7 from 3-point range) a day after pouring in 32 points against Florida State. Evans recorded a career-high 10 rebounds.
Khamenia helped make up for Evans’ low-scoring effort by hitting three 3-pointers as she reached double-digit scoring totals for the first time in nearly a month.
Duke, whose starting pitcher Malik Brown picked up his second foul less than 9 1/2 minutes into the game, led 41-22 at halftime.
The Boozer twins combined for 22 first-half points, equaling Clemson’s point total. The Tigers missed their final 10 shots of the first half, shooting 22.2 percent.
Duke’s lead reached 20 points in the second half, but Clemson’s late offense made the final margin tighter than when the Blue Devils beat the Tigers 67-54 at home last month.
Both teams made 18 free throws and Duke committed 11 turnovers to Clemson’s six.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
