G2 | LAMAR (2-0) at DUQUESNE (1-0)
Tues., Nov. 12, 2019 • 7:00 pm ET • McCandless, Pa. • Kerr Fitness Center (1,200)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
IN-GAME STATS: Sidearm

Duquesne (1-0), which opened with a 94-67 win over Princeton at PPG Paints Arena last Tuesday, hosts Lamar (2-0) in the Dukes' first "home" game at Kerr Fitness Center on the campus of La Roche University on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+). This is the first of four non-conference home games the Dukes will play at La Roche while renovation work continues on the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (scheduled to open in 2020-21). The Lamar game is the second of three in a row at home for the Dukes, who host Lipscomb at La Roche on Nov. 15. Duquesne rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to outscore Princeton 57-25 in the second half of the opening win. Lamar, which is coming off a 106-61 win over Arlington Baptist on Friday, is forcing 29.0 turnovers per game.

TRENDING

• Duquesne rallied from 14 points down in the first half to defeat Princeton. It was the ninth time a Keith Dambrot-coached DU team erased a double-digit deficit to win (eight came last year).
• DU set Dambrot Era highs for field goals (36), points in a half (57 in the second) and points off turnovers (34) vs. Princeton.
• First-year grad transfer Baylee Steele tied his career high with 19 points vs. the Tigers. His three 3-pointers and five steals were both career highs.
• Sophomore guard Sincere Carry went 10-of-14 from the field in scoring 23 points. It was his third career 20-point game.
• Marcus Weathers was 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line in scoring 16 points vs. Princeton. His seven rebounds were a team high.
• DU went 13-of-25 from the arc vs. Princeton. Six players hit at least one "3" led by Carry and Steele with three each.
• Keith Dambrot enters the Lamar game with 449 career wins.

THE SERIES vs. LAMAR
Series Record: Duquesne leads 1-0
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 1-0
At Beaumont, Texas: Never met
Dambrot vs. Lamar: 1-0 (at Duquesne)
 

Date	Site	W/L	Score
Dec. 19, 2017	H	W	65-64

SERIES NOTES
Southland Conference ... located in Beaumont, Texas ... DU leads the series 1-0, including a 65-64 win in Pittsburgh on Dec. 19, 2017 as part of the Las Vegas Classic ... no current Dukes played in that game ... LU returns a pair of starters from last year's 20-13 team in senior G/F T.J. Atwood (21.5, 7.5) and 6-4 senior G V.J. Holmes (8.5, 5.0) ... finished strong with wins in 11 of its final 13 games (12-6, t3rd in Southland) ... it was Lamar's first 20-win season since 2011-12 ... Lamar has won 19, 19 & 20 games in its past three seasons, including CIT appearances in 2017 & 2018 ... head coach Tic Price is in his sixth season at Lamar and 15th season overall as a head coach ... the up-tempo Cardinals are averaging 96 ppg. and forcing 29 turnovers per game on the young season ... Duquesne is 9-0 all-time against the schools that comprise the current Southland Conference, with all nine meetings coming since 2009-10.

WORTH NOTING

• The Dukes are in their third season under head coach Keith Dambrot. Dambrot, who inherited a 10-22 team in 2017-18, posted a 16-16 record in 2018 and guided a 2019 team - with a roster that saw 97 percent of its points come from freshmen and sophomores - to 19 wins (19-13) and a 10-8 Atlantic 10 finish (T6th). The Dukes, who were picked to finish 11th in last year's A-10 preseason poll, tied the school record for conference wins and posted the school's highest win total since 2011.
• Duquesne was picked to finish eighth in the 2019-20 Atlantic 10 preseason poll. The Dukes have exceeded their preseason A-10 pick in each of their first two seasons under Dambrot. The 2018 team, picked to finish last, ended up tied for 10th. Last year DU, picked 11th, ended up tied for sixth. It was the first time since 2009 (picked 12th, finished tied for fifth) that a Duquesne team exceeded its preseason pick by five or more spots.
• Duquesne returns three starters - 2019 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team member 6-1 So. G Sincere Carry (12.1, 3.6, 161 assists, 68 steals), 6-8 Jr. C Michael Hughes (11.2, 6.5, 66 blocks) and 6-5 Jr. F Marcus Weathers (10.0, 6.4). NOTE: A fourth starter, 6-4 Jr. G Frankie Hughes (8.9, 2.2, 71 3-pointers), underwent season-ending knee surgery on October 7 to repair a torn meniscus.
• Additional key returnees include 2019 Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year 5-8 Jr. G Tavian Dunn-Martin (7.8, 1.4, 81 assists, 47 3-pointers), 6-3 So., G Lamar Norman Jr. (4.8, 1.6), 6-10 So. F Austin Rotroff (4.2, 2.4) and 6-9 So. F Amari Kelly (2.1, 2.1). Rotroff and Kelly are both coming off season-ending ACL injuries suffered in separate games vs. Saint Louis last season (Rotroff on Jan. 23 in Pittsburgh and Kelly on Mar. 6 in St. Louis). Caleb Davis, DU's lone senior, is also back.
• The Dukes welcome six newcomers including 6-5 Fr. G Maceo Austin (Sharon, Pa.), 6-1 Fr. G Evan Buckley (Ashburn, Va.), 6-11 Fr. C James Ellis (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 6-3 Fr. G Jake Harper (Dayton, Ohio), 6-5 Fr. G Ashton Miller (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and 6-11 Gr. C Baylee Steele (Norwalk, Iowa/Utah Valley University). Steele, who began his career at Des Moines Area Community College, spent one year at Eastern Michigan (4.4, 4.1 in 2016-17) before transferring to Utah Valley University, where he was one of two players to start all 35 games for the 25-10 CBI second round Wolverines (8.5, 7.2 in 2018-19). The fourth graduate transfer in Duquesne basketball history has played in 68 Division I games with a team-high 57 career starts.
• With the loss of Frankie Hughes (knee surgery), Duquesne returns over 60 percent of its scoring from a team the led the Atlantic 10 with a 73.5 ppg. average. Six of DU's top eight point producers from last season are back. All but two of DU's 1,295 points in conference play last year (99.8%) came from freshmen and sophomores.
• Head Coach Keith Dambrot's 35 wins are the most by a DU coach through his first two seasons. His 16 wins in 2018 were the most by a DU first-year coach since Dudey Moore went 17-5 in 1948-49. DU's 19 wins last season were its most since 2011.
• The Dukes prepared for the season with a trip to the Bahamas August 5-11. It was the third-ever foreign tour for Duquesne which traveled to Toronto to play four games in three days over Labor Day weekend in 2007 and also went to Ireland for a four-game tour in August of 2015. DU was allowed 10 practices prior to departing.