No. 4 Duke closed the game on a perfect shooting stretch Thursday night, rallying past No. 22 Arkansas for an 80-71 victory in the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic at the United Center.
The Blue Devils were flawless in the final minutes, going 6-for-6 from the field and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line to put the Razorbacks away. Duke freshman standout Cameron Boozer delivered a dominant performance, scoring a game-high 35 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. continued his impressive start to the season, finishing with 21 points and five assists. Trevon Brazile added his second double-double of the year,the 12th of his career,with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Razorbacks spent much of the first half digging out of a hole, trailing by as many as 13 with under two minutes remaining. Arkansas closed the half on a 7-0 run and carried that momentum into the second half, using a 22-6 surge to take a 50-47 lead. A three-pointer from Meleek Thomas pushed the advantage to 60-53 with just over 10 minutes to play.
Duke responded, tying the game at 64 and retaking the lead for good with 6:13 remaining. Thomas knocked down another three with 2:56 left to pull the Hogs within one at 70-69, but the Blue Devils outscored Arkansas 10-2 the rest of the way to seal the win.
Caleb Foster scored 15 points and Patrick Ngongba added 11 for Duke.
Arkansas now returns home to Bud Walton Arena, where the Razorbacks will host No. 6 Louisville in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 6 on ESPN.
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