​DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 20: Patrick Ngongba II #21 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts following a basket during the first half of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 20, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) GettyDURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 02: Patrick Ngongba II #21 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball during the first half of the game against the Army Black Knights at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 02, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images) GettyDURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 02: Patrick Ngongba II #21 of the Duke Blue Devils jostles with Tate Laczkowski #32 and Jacen Holloway #10 of the Army Black Knights for a rebound during the second half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 02, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images) GettyWASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 27: Patrick Ngongba #21 and Caleb Foster #1 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate during the second half against the St. John’s Red Storm in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) GettyPatrick Ngongba scored a career-high 28 points in Duke’s 113-52 win over Coastal Carolina. Throughout the game, Ngongba dominated in the paint. He used his height and size to take advantage of the smaller Coastal Carolina team. He overwhelmed them and proved to be too much for them.Patrick Ngongba: His Impressive Performance GettyDURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 02: Patrick Ngongba II #21 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball during the first half of the game against the Army Black Knights at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 02, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images)
Ngongba entered halftime with 18 points; he set the tone early on and continued throughout the whole half. He ended up scoring 10 more points in the second half, giving him his career high of 28 points. He was 10/13 from the field and 6/10 from the free-throw line. He even showcased his outside shooting, going 2/3 from three-point range.He spent the whole first half around the rim, catching alley-oops and backing the opponent down. It was important for him to establish the paint game early on to dictate how the game was going to go. That put a lot of pressure on Coastal Carolina to figure out how to stop it. He was able to draw a bunch of fouls, adding even more pressure to their team. In the second half, he hit back-to-back three-pointers, showing that he is more than a paint scorer.More Than Scoring GettyDURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 02: Patrick Ngongba II #21 of the Duke Blue Devils jostles with Tate Laczkowski #32 and Jacen Holloway #10 of the Army Black Knights for a rebound during the second half of the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 02, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images)
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