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No. 4 Duke blows game open early in 2nd half, beats No. 20 Louisville 83-52 to stay perfect in ACC

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No. 4 Duke blows game open early in 2nd half, beats No. 20 Louisville 83-52 to stay perfect in ACC
Sport

Sport

No. 4 Duke blows game open early in 2nd half, beats No. 20 Louisville 83-52 to stay perfect in ACC

2026-01-27 10:15 Last Updated At:10:20

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 19 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 4 Duke roll past No. 20 Louisville 83-52 on Monday night, giving the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference favorite a sweep of its projected top challenger.

Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II each added 15 points for the Blue Devils (19-1, 8-0 ACC), who scored 13 unanswered points spanning halftime to assert control after leading by just one shortly before the break. That spurt was merely the start of turning this into a romp, with the Cardinals struggling to make much of anything while the Blue Devils dominated the glass and the paint and shot 50.8%.

Duke took its first meeting with the team picked to finish second in the ACC on Jan. 6, rallying from 12 down on the road and shooting 70.8% (17 of 24) in the second half. The Blue Devils left no doubt in this one on the way to their 27th straight home win, which pushed them to 7-1 against AP Top 25 foes.

Ryan Conwell scored 18 points to lead the Cardinals (14-6, 4-4), who went 3 for 22 from the field over a roughly 15-minute stretch that carried into the second half. Louisville finished the game shooting 29.6%.

Louisville freshman and top NBA draft prospect Mikel Brown Jr. didn't play in the first meeting while missing six weeks with a back injury. He returned in Saturday's win against Virginia Tech but followed with a rough debut in Cameron Indoor Stadium, going 0 for 8 in the first half while finishing with seven points on 1-of-13 shooting with three turnovers.

Louisville: The Cardinals host SMU on Saturday.

Duke: The Blue Devils visit Virginia Tech on Saturday.

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Duke's Patrick Ngongba II (21) blocks a shot by Louisville's Sananda Fru (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

Duke's Patrick Ngongba II (21) blocks a shot by Louisville's Sananda Fru (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

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