Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team opened its 2023-24 season and 108th season of NCAA basketball Monday with a 79-77 victory over Cleveland State at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes improved to 90-18 (.833) in season openers with the win.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
A nip-and-tuck affair that featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes, the Dukes took the lead for good, 75-74, with 1:44 to play after
Fousseyni Drame knocked down a three-pointer from the corner on a feed from
Jimmy Clark III in front of the home bench. Clark III added a driving layup with just over a minute to play that stretched the lead to 77-74 in favor of Duquesne. Drew Lowder, who scored a game-high 27 points for Cleveland State (0-1), missed a floater after the triple from Drame, and Tevin Smith missed from beyond the arc with 49 seconds left.
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"That's exactly how I expected the game to go," head coach
Keith Dambrot said. "We're gonna have a good team but we're a work in progress. We're just trying to figure it out as a staff. (Cleveland State) is a good team, and we caught them on a good night. They shot the ball really well. We're not quite sure who should be in when. We're going to have a rotating lineup. We did a lot of good things but we just quite didn't get over the hump. We'll play better."
CLARK BAR
Trailing at halftime, 41-38, Clark III kept Duquesne engaged in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 11 points while handing out four assists and recording a pair of steals. He picked up his third foul early in the second half and his fourth at the 9:58 mark of the second half on an offensive foul. He came back late with the layup to help push the Dukes over the top and finished with 16 points, eight assists and three steals in just over 28 minutes.
WIN TWINS
Duquesne got an immediate boost from twins
Fousseyni Drame and
Hassan Drame in their debut for the Dukes, as the pair combined for 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Hassan Drame hit each of his first four shots from the field as the duo combined to shoot 8-for-11, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Hassan Drame also added a pair of steals in the win.
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"Neither Drame started and
Tre Williams didn't start, and they've started almost every game of their career," Dambrot said. "It tells you a lot about them as people and them caring about winning. That tells you a lot about their character. Their energy level was terrific, and that's the thing I'm most proud of. Fousseynni and Hassan both play hard and fearless. Fousseynni bopped that three in and it changed the game."
GRANT BUILDING
Preseason All-Atlantic 10
Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne in scoring with 21 points on the strength of an 8-for-11 performance at the free-throw line. Grant, who entered the season successful on 20 consecutive attempts at the chalk, knocked down his first two attempts of the game before missing his third. He also connected for a triple that gave the Dukes a 50-45 advantage early in the second half, setting the stage for the back-and-forth affair over the final 20 minutes.
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"I thought we played pretty good offensively, we just missed open shots," Dambrot said. "I don't feel like we played poorly, but things didn't just really go our way. We made mistakes guarding the ball and didn't protect the rim very well in the first half. We have to score a little bit better inside, but we did a pretty good job of throwing out of the post and got some open looks. We just didn't make them. All those things will get better."
UP NEXT
Duquesne heads to Annapolis, Md., to take part in the 2023 Veteran's Classic. The Dukes will tip Friday, Nov. 10, at 6:00 p.m. against the College of Charleston at Alumni Hall.
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