Star Freshman Cameron Boozer Awoke In The Second Half of Duke's Season-Opening Win Over Texas.

In his highly anticipated collegiate debut, nothing was going right for Cameron Boozer. 

The Texas Longhorns had held him scoreless at halftime on 0 for 7 shooting. And to add salt in the wound, Boozer's sixth-ranked Blue Devils were trailing heading into the break.

While exiting the floor into the tunnel, Duke associate head coach Chris Carrawell trailed Boozer and told the preseason All-ACC star, "They aren't going to give anything to you. You've got to take it."

That message seemed to quickly resonate coming out of the locker room.

Spearheaded by Boozer, the Blue Devils outscored the Longhorns 12-2 to open the second half. Eight of the 12 points were scored by Boozer, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Duke would not relinquish that advantage and secured a 75-60 victory in the first annual Dick Vitale Invitational to open the regular season. The game was held inside Spectrum Center, the home of the Charlotte Hornets, with a Blue-Devil-friendly crowd that exceeded 10,000 spectators.

(© Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images)

It would have been impossible to forecast Boozer's scoring struggles after his two exhibition performances.

Boozer scored 33 points — on 12 of 19 shooting — in a home victory over UCF. Five days later, the freshman phenom amassed 24 points and 23 rebounds in an impressive, road win for the Blue Devils.

He wasn't the only freshman to struggle offensively in his Blue Devil debut, though.

Cayden Boozer, Cameron's twin brother, totaled just two points and did not make a field goal. Fellow freshman Nik Khamenia finished with four points on 1 of 2 shooting. International transfer Dame Sarr, who started the game, sunk two triples on his way to eight points. 

Perhaps related to the slow offensive start, Duke was the only ACC program to open its season by facing a high-major opponent. Only three of the 18 teams have scheduled one in the first week of play.

Before traveling to West Point for a true road game next week, the Blue Devils will hold their home opener against Western Carolina on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. from Cameron Indoor Stadium.