G15 | RHODE ISLAND (4-8, 0-0) at DUQUESNE (10-4, 0-1)       
Sat., Dec. 31, 2022 • 1:00 pm ET • Pittsburgh, Pa. • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
RADIO: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58), Jarrett Durham ('71) & Tad Maurey
PROMOTION: Fans are invited to celebrate New Year's Eve with the Dukes with $1 beers, $1 hot dogs and postgame autographs at courtside

Duquesne (10-4, 0-1), which saw its three-game win streak snapped in a 69-57 defeat at preseason Atlantic 10 favorite Dayton on Wednesday, closes out the calendar year with its A-10 home opener vs. Rhode Island (4-8, 0-0) at 1:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve (ESPN+). 

This is the league opener for Rhody, which has been idle since a 75-66 loss at George State on Dec. 18. The Rams had a Dec. 22 home game vs. Milwaukee canceled due to a COVID outbreak within the URI program.

This is the third road game for Rhode Island, which also suffered a 53-49 loss at Boston College on Nov. 27. The Rams were picked to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason poll.

Duquesne couldn't dig itself out of an early 10-0 hole at Dayton. The Dukes cut it to 37-32 at the half, but a 5-of-21 performance from the 3-point arc hindered the comeback attempt. Jimmy Clark III led DU with 15 points and eight rebounds.

A trio of Dukes who had been out due to injury, R.J. Gunn (10 games), Tevin Brewer (3 games) and Kareem Rozier (one game) all made their returns at Dayton.

TRENDING

• With the return of R.J. Gunn (missed 10g), Tevin Brewer (3g) and Kareem Rozier (1g) at Dayton the Dukes had their complete roster available for the first time this season.
• DU, which averaged 65.2 ppg. last year, is averaging 75.1 ppg. (+9.9 ppg.). The Dukes have topped the 90-point mark three times and are 5-0 when scoring 80 or more. DU is averaging 78.0 ppg. at home.
• DU's assists per game average is up +5.1/g. from last year (from 10.0 to 15.1).
• DU's .361 3-point pct. is its best under Keith Dambrot (current best is .350 in 2017-18).
• Guard Dae Dae Grant, who has scored in double digits in 12 of 14 games, is shooting .430 from 3-point (46-of-107). Grant, who has four games with five or more 3-pointers, ranked 18th nationally in 3-pointers/g. (3.29) and 7th in 3-point FGs (46) thru Dec. 28. Grant went over the 1,400-point career mark vs. Winthrop (which was his 100th game).
• Guard Jimmy Clark III, who played as a freshman and sophomore at VCU, has scored 16, 19, 16, 13, 17, 15 & 15 points in DU's past seven games. Clark's D-I career-high entering the season was nine.
• Tevin Brewer has handed out 32 assists despite missing four games due to injuries (3.2 assist/turnover ratio). He scored 11 points and handed out four assists in 20 min. off the bench at Dayton. It was his first game since 12/11 (missed 3g. with an injury).
• Freshman Kareem Rozier has come off the bench to lead, or tie for the team lead, in assists four times. Rozier has 27 assists and seven turnovers this season (3.9-to-1 ratio).
• Austin Rotroff has come off the bench to lead the Dukes in rebounding in seven times. The 6-10 forward ranked first nationally in offensive rebound percentage (per KenPom) through Dec. 28.
• Freshman Halil Barre, who missed the first nine games of the season (knee) had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals in a season-high 17 minutes off the bench at Dayton. It was his fifth game in uniform.
• Grad student R.J. Gunn, who missed 10 games with a foot injury, scored seven points in 22 minutes off the bench at Dayton. It was his first appearance since Nov. 14.

DUKES AND RAMS
Series Record: Rhode Island leads 36-28
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 15-14
At Kingston: Rhode Island leads 21-11
Neutral Site: Duquesne leads 2-1
A-10 Regular Season: Rhode Island leads 32-24
A-10 Championship: Tied 2-2
Dambrot vs. URI/at Duquesne: 3-6/3-4

• This is the 65th meeting in a series that dates to Jan. 13, 1966. Rhode Island, winner of 23 of the past 32, leads the all-time series 36-28. In games in Pittsburgh, the Dukes lead 15-14. URI swept DU last season, winning 70-54 at Ryan Center and again 11 days later in the first round of the A-10 Championship in Washington, D.C. (79-77). No members of the current roster faced URI last season.
• Due to pandemic-related rescheduling, 2020-21 marked the first time in 20 years that DU and URI met twice in the same regular season. Duquesne swept the two games with a 71-69 "home" win at LaRoche University's Kerr Fitness Center (Jan. 20) and an 86-75 win at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (Feb. 27). DU has won the past three home meetings between the two.
• 13 of the past 18 games between the two (12 URI wins) have been determined by eight or fewer points. Four of the seven games under current DU coach Keith Dambrot have been one possession affairs.
• Keith Dambrot is 3-6 vs. URI (3-4 at Duquesne), with the first two meetings - both losses - coming while at Akron.

WORTH NOTING

• It took the 2022-23 Dukes - with a roster that features 10 newcomers (five transfers and five freshmen) - just eight games to exceed last year's win total (6-24).
• Duquesne, picked to finish 15th of 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, tied the school record for November wins set in 2008 and matched in 2020 (both 6-0). DU went 6-1 in November, with the lone loss coming at No. 4 (AP) Kentucky.
• This was just the fourth time in program history - and second time under Keith Dambrot - that the Dukes entered Atlantic 10 play with 10 wins (10-3). The others: 2007-08 (10-3), 2015-16 (10-3) and 2019-20 (10-2).
• Duquesne's 66-55 win over DePaul on Dec. 14 was the program's first over a Big East school since an 86-82 victory over West Virginia on Nov. 25, 2002 at A.J. Palumbo Center. The margin of victory was DU's largest over a Power 6 school since a 78-52 win over Penn State (Big Ten) at CONSOL Energy Center on Nov. 20, 2015 (under Jim Ferry).
• Ten Dukes (Brewer, Clark III, Dixon, Grant, Hronsky, McGriff, Reece, Rotroff, Rozier & Williams) posted double-digit scoring games in non-league play.
• DU has erased first half deficits of 14 (vs. Ball State, down 18-4) and 16 points (vs. Indiana State, down 20-4) to win this season. The Dukes have 19 double-digit comeback wins under Keith Dambrot (all have come in the past four seasons).

LAST GAME: DAYTON 69, DUQUESNE 57
Dec. 28, 2022 • UD Arena • Dayton, Ohio

• Duquesne fell behind 10-0 and could never recover in dropping the A-10 opener at Dayton.
• The Dukes pulled to within five at the half (37-32), but could get no closer as a 5-of-21 effort from the 3-point arc hindered the comeback attempt.
• Dayton, which entered the game shooting .288 from the 3-point arc, went 8-of- 20 (.400) from deep.
• Jimmy Clark III led the Dukes with 15 points, a career high-tying eight rebounds and three steals.
• Tevin Brewer, in his first game back after missing three in a row (shoulder), scored 11 points and handed out a team-high four assists in 20 minutes off the bench.
• Freshman Halil Barre had six points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 17 minutes off the bench.
• R.J. Gunn, in his first appearance since Nov. 14 vs. S.C. State, finished with 7 points. Gunn missed the previous 10 games due to injury.
• DU had a 30-3 advantage in bench points.
• Dayton, which had 14 offensive boards, outrebounded Duquesne 41-27.
• Head coach Keith Dambrot used 12 players in the first half.
• The Dukes, who didn't attempt a free throw until the 18:55 mark of the second half, went 2-of-7 from the foul line. The two makes were a Dambrot Era low.
• Dayton's largest lead was 15, the last of which came at 69-54, with 0:09 left. Dayton, which led for 39:48, never trailed. It was the first game this season that Duquesne never led.