'Showtime' Suddenly Awakens Duke Basketball in California

The Duke basketball team bounced back from another early deficit to begin its two-game West Coast visit with a double-digit win.

Jan 14, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Isaiah Evans (3) shoots a three point shot against California Golden Bears forward Chris Bell (22) during the first half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Late Wednesday night in Haas Pavilion, Jon Scheyer's fourth Duke basketball squad (16-1, 5-0 ACC) trailed the unranked Cal Golden Bears (13-5, 1-4 ACC) by as many as six points with under four minutes to play in the first half. Evidently, the 8 p.m. PT tipoff time (11 p.m. on the East Coast) didn't quite suit the group from Durham, yet that's been case with every other tipoff time of late on the No. 6 Blue Devils' ACC slate.

ALSO READ: Blue Devils Call Attention to 'Brightest Lights, Biggest Stage'

No worries. Duke eventually woke up, thanks in large part to sophomore guard Isaiah Evans entering "Showtime Slim" mode at a critical juncture, and ultimately prevailed, 71-56.

shooter's shoot 🎯

12 for Slim at the break pic.twitter.com/mMDzaZTNiG

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 15, 2026

Across the last 90 seconds prior to the break, sophomore guard Isaiah Evans scored eight of his team-high 12 first half points, which featured a 3-for-7 clip from downtown, thereby giving the Blue Devils a 37-30 advantage entering the locker room.

Foul-Prone Start to Second Half

Less than five minutes into the second half, the Blue Devils committed their seventh foul since coming out of the locker room. The Golden Bears, who entered the night leading the ACC with their 79.4 free throw percentage, tied the score at 41-41 via the charity stripe and were in the bonus the rest of the way.

Jan 14, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears guard Justin Pippen (10) and Duke Blue Devils guard Dame Sarr (7) fight for the loose ball during the first half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Duke swiftly flipped that script, though, tallying only three fouls across the next eight-plus minutes of action while outscoring the Golden Bears, 21-7, in that stretch.

The Blue Devils' second half attack centered on finding freshman sensation Cameron Boozer, fellow rookie forward Nikolas Khamenia, and sophomore big man Patrick Ngongba II either posted up in the paint or driving toward the rim. As a result, they drew frequent fouls on Cal in reaching the double bonus with 9:48 left on the clock.

And from that point forward, Duke asserted its dominance.

Jan 14, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba (21) drives to the net against California Golden Bears forward Lee Dort (34) during the first half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Three Blue Devils finished with 10 points or more in the contest: Cameron Boozer (21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists), Isaiah Evans (17 points, three blocks, one steal), and Nikolas Khamenia (10 points, four rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench).

Remaining on the West Coast for a few more days, Duke basketball will now gear up to face the unranked Stanford Cardinal (14-4, 3-2 ACC), who recorded a 95-90 home win over the No. 14 UNC Tar Heels on Wednesday night. The bout between the Cardinal and visiting Blue Devils gets underway in Maples Pavilion at 6 p.m. ET Saturday (ACC Network).

Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.

As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clicking HERE, and following us on X (formerly Twitter) HERE.