GAME 2
Charleston (1-0) vs. Duquesne (1-0)
2023 Veterans Classic
Friday, Nov. 10, 2023 | 6:00 p.m.
Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710)
 
TV: CBS Sports Network with John Sadak, Steve Lappas & Jon Rothstein
Radio: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)

Game Notes | Record Book | Media Center | TV/Radio Spotter Chart | Live Stats | Listen | Watch  

Opening Tip
The Duquesne University men's basketball team travels to Annapolis, Md., to take on the College of Charleston Friday, Nov. 10, in a 6:00 p.m. tip at Alumni Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in the first game of the 2023 Veterans Classic. The Dukes opened their 2023-24 campaign and 108th season of NCAA basketball with a 79-77 victory over Cleveland State (11/6/23) at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Duquesne closed out its win over the Vikings on a 10-5 burst, with forward Fousseyni Drame connecting for a three-pointer from the corner with 1:44 to play that gave the Dukes the lead for good, 75-74, en route to the triumph. Guard Dae Dae Grant scored a team-high 21 points for DU in the win over Cleveland State, while guard Jimmy Clark III added 16 points, eight assists and three steals. The Dukes, selected fourth in the 2023-24 Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, return three starters from a 2022-23 squad that finished with an overall record of 20-13 (.606), including a mark of 10-8 (.556) in the A-10. Grant is the leading career scorer in the A-10 with 1,703 career points.
 
Worth Noting
- The 2023-24 season marks the 108th year of Duquesne basketball. The Dukes started play in 1913-14 (DU did not field a team in 1944-45-46 due to World War II). Duquesne has compiled an impressive 90-18 (.833) record in season-opening games after its 79-77 win over Cleveland State, including an 85-4 (.955) mark when opening the season at home. The Dukes also improved to 99-8 (.925) all-time in the first home game of the season thanks to its win over the Vikings.
 
- Forward Tre Williams is 63 points shy of 1,000 for his career and is one of four Dukes that could eclipse the plateau this season. Twins Fousseyni Drame and Hassan Drame own career totals of 905 and 717 career points, respectively, while forward Andrei Savrasov has scored 854 career points.
 
- Guard Dae Dae Grant looks to score 1,000 points in two seasons with the Dukes after pacing Duquesne last year with 511 points, an average of 15.5 per contest. Grant has scored 1,703 points at the NCAA Division I level. He is also 297 points shy of 2,000 for his career.
 
- Guard Jimmy Clark III scored 404 points in his first season at Duquesne last season and owns 550 career points entering Friday's game against Charleston. Clark III also needs 69 steals to crack the top 10 in program history for thefts, as Andy Sisinni (1981-84) currently ranks 10th with 148.
 
- When holding opponents to less than 70 points under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 56-16 (.778), including an 11-3 (.786) mark last season.
 
- The Dukes have erased a double-digit deficit 20 times under Keith Dambrot, with all 20 occasions coming since 2018-19. Duquesne trailed by double digits in the second half in 11 of those comebacks. Last season, the Dukes erased a 20-4 lead at the 12:19 mark of the first half against Indiana State to earn a 92-86 victory over the Sycamores at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (12/17/22).
 
The Series vs. College of Charleston
 - Friday marks the first game between Duquesne and the College of Charleston, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
 
- Charleston posted a 71-69 victory over Iona (11/6/23) in its 2023-24 season opener at TD Arena. Ante Brzovic pushed the Cougars in front, 70-69, thanks to a layup with 34 seconds remaining, and after Greg Gordon missed a jumper in the paint with eight seconds to go, Reyne Smith finished 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. Out of an Iona time, the Gaels went for the win, but a three-point attempt from Wheza Panzo as time expired was off the mark.
 
- The Cougars were selected as the 2023-24 preseason favorite in the CAA, earning 10 first-place votes and 165 points. Charleston finished with an overall record of 31-4 (.886) last season and won its first CAA title since 2018.
 
- Junior forward Ante Brzovic was named to the 2023-24 All-CAA Preseason First Team, while junior guard Reyne Smith was tabbed to the 2023-24 All-CAA Preseason Second Team. Brzovic averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds last season, eclipsing the 20-point plateau three times and notching three double-doubles. Smith scored at a 10.8 points per game clip during the 2022-23 season.
 
- The Cougars are led by head coach Pat Kelsey (Xavier '88), who is in his third season as head coach. He has posted a record of 50-19 (.725) at Charleston and owns an overall record of 235-114 (.674) in 12 seasons as a head coach. Prior to taking the head coaching position with the Cougars, Kelsey spent nine seasons at Winthrop, compiling an overall mark of 186-95 (.662).
 
Head Coach Keith Dambrot
Seventh Year at Duquesne | 26th Year Overall
Keith Dambrot, who built Akron into one of the most successful - and most respected - programs in the Mid-American Conference over 13 seasons, was named head men's basketball coach at Duquesne University on March 28, 2017. The veteran coach wasted no time making an impact on the DU program with 65 wins in his first four seasons. His 91 wins already rank fifth on the Dukes' all-time victory list and his two 20-win seasons - in just six years - are tied for the third-most in program history.
       
Dambrot reached a significant career milestone on Feb. 8, 2023 when he posted his 500th career victory (75-52 over George Mason). He enters the 2023-24 season as one of 28 active Division I coaches with 500 or more wins. More impressively, he is one of nine of the 28 who has never coached at a Power 5/Big East school, joining Mark Few (Gonzaga), Greg Kampe (Oakland), Lennie Acuff (Bellhaven, Berry, Alabama Huntsville, Lipscomb), Fran Dunphy (Penn, Temple, La Salle), Scott Nagy (South Dakota State, Wright State), Ron Cottrell (Houston Christian), Randy Bennett (Saint Mary's, Calif.) and Ron Hunter (IUPUI, Georgia State, Tulane).
 
In 2023, Dambrot rebuilt a Duquesne team that was coming off a 6-24 season and turned it into a 20-game winner. In the process, he became the first DU coach since Red Manning (1959-74) to produce multiple 20-win teams on the Bluff.
 
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