Annapolis, Md. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team improved to 2-0 to open the 2023-24 season Friday with a 90-72 victory over the College of Charleston at Alumni Hall as part of the Veterans Classic, which is hosted by the United States Naval Academy.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Ante Brzovic converted a three-point play with 11:14 to go after a driving layup and the fourth foul of the game for senior guard
Jimmy Clark III. Duquesne responded with an 11-0 run, which was sparked by a jumper on the baseline from guard
Dae Dae Grant. Sophomore
Kareem Rozier, who scored a career-high 20 points to help bolster the efforts for the Dukes, followed with a driving layup before burying a three-pointer to push the lead to 66-59 with 8:38 remaining. A pair at the free-throw line from forward
Jakub Necas and a jumper in the paint from
Andrei Savrasov helped complete the run for Duquesne.
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"Strange game," head coach
Keith Dambrot said. "That's a tough team. What makes them so difficult is that they won 31 games last season. We just played a little better in the second half. We were a little more settled with our lineup and had a little less foul trouble. I was proud of our guys. A lot of people would've quit at halftime after what happened to us in the first half, but I knew our guys wouldn't."
A GAME OF RUNS
Using a 15-0 run over a three-minute stretch in the first half, Duquesne opened up a 22-5 advantage at the 12:13 mark after a three-pointer from Grant. During the surge the Dukes were a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Charleston (1-1) called a timeout after the triple from Grant and began to chip away. Still trailing by double digits with just over six minutes left before halftime, the Cougars closed the first half with an 18-4 burst to take a 37-33 lead at the break. The first lead for Charleston came with 1:14 left in the first half, as a jumper from James Scott pushed the Cougars in front, 34-33.
MOTOR CITY
Rozier opened the game with a three-pointer and was one of four Dukes to finish in double figures in the victory. He poured in a career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from deep, while finishing a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line. He also added four assists and grabbed a pair of rebounds in playing a game-high 37 minutes.
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"I told our two hosts from the Navy who spent the last two days with us that I have one guy that could be in the Naval Academy and it's Kareem," Dambrot said. "His leadership ability is second-to-none. I said it last year and people looked at me like I was biased, but he's absolutely the best leader that I've ever had. He was 17 years old and was leading a bunch of older guys. The intangibles that he has, it doesn't matter what the stat line says. He was pretty good tonight, but he's just a special guy."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Grant also reached the 20-point plateau Friday for Duquesne, finishing with a game-high 22 points. Clark III provided another complete effort before fouling out, contributing 18 points, seven assists and three steals while corralling three rebounds. Savrasov also scored in double figures with 10 points, including buckets on consecutive possessions in the paint with just over four minutes to go that boosted the lead for Duquesne to 76-62. In the first two games of the 2023-24 season, six different Dukes have reached double figures in scoring.
FOR THE VETS
The victory for Duquesne wrapped up its first appearance in the Veterans Classic, which is in its 10th year in 2023. Festivities for the coaches and student-athletes Thursday included a tour of the U.S. Naval Academy, lunch with the Midshipmen in King Hall and a speech from retired U.S. Navy EOD Officer Brad Snyder, a swimmer for the United States Paralympic Team that has won six gold medals.
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"Every last bit of this experience was terrific," Dambrot said. "The sacrifices these guys make for our country and our freedom and what they do for us, I think people take it for granted. I just have so much respect, because you have to be so smart to come here. I've never heard a better speech in my whole life. Think about that for a second. It was just terrific."
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns home for a three-game homestand at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, which includes a pair of games as part of the Cornhusker Classic. The Dukes open the homestand and the tournament Monday, Nov. 13, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Stony Brook.
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