Isaiah Evans scores career-high 28 to lead No. 6 Duke to a 91-87 victory against Florida State

By Canadian Press on January 3, 2026.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Isaiah Evans scored a career-high 28 points to lead No. 6 Duke to a 91-87 victory against Florida State on Saturday.

The sophomore guard shot 6 of 14 from 3-point range, surpassing his career-best 23 points set in the opener against Texas on Nov. 4. Evans’ six 3-pointers were also a career-high.

Cameron Boozer had 17 points and season-bests in assists with nine and steals with four for Duke (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Florida State (7-8, 0-2) battled from start to finish and closed the deficit to 87-85 on Kobe MaGee’s 3-pointer with 23 seconds to go. The Seminoles were forced to foul, and Evans made a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left. MaGee missed a contested, off-balance 3-pointer with seven seconds to go and Duke rebounded to secure the win.

Chauncey Wiggins scored 22 points, making 8 of 11 shots and matching his career-high. The Clemson transfer also had 22 points against Alcorn State on Nov. 4.

Robert McCray V also scored 22 and had five assists. MaGee finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Duke shot 28 of 53 from the floor and 12 of 27 from 3-point range.

Despite a significant height advantage in the front court, Duke out rebounded Florida State just 31-24. Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II each had six rebounds. The Blue Devils turned 10 offensive rebounds into only 11 second-chance points.

Florida State shot 31 of 58 and 14 of 30 from 3-point range. The Seminoles were averaging 11.4 made 3-pointers coming into Saturday’s game.

Up next

Duke: Visits No. 16 Louisville on Tuesday.

Florida State: Hosts N.C. State on Jan. 10.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Bob Ferrante, The Associated Press

17
-16