Las Vegas, Nev. – Despite a career-high from senior guard Dae Dae Grant, the Duquesne men's basketball team fell short to Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon, dropping an 81-73 decision inside Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. With the slip, the Dukes four-game winning streak comes to an end as they fall to 8-3 overall.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
It was a consistent start for the Broncos as they started the contest by hitting their first three shots from the floor and scored the game's opening eight points. Graduate student Andrei Savrasov put Duquesne on the board with a layup before the Dukes trimmed the Santa Clara lead, 17-10 with 14:24 remaining. After a jumper by Santa Clara (9-5), Duquesne sparked a 9-4 run, all coming from behind the arc to trail 23-19. Grant, senior Jimmy Clark III and sophomore Kareem Rozier all found the bottom of the net from deep. Later in the half, the Dukes picked up the defensive intensity, holding the Broncos to 0-of-6 from the floor while scoring nine consecutive points in a two minute span, to grab its first lead of the afternoon. After a Savrasov free-throw, Grant netted eight straight points while converting two pull up jumpers and a shot from behind the arc to lead the Dukes, 31-27. Santa Clara would rally with a 9-0 run of their own before Grant buried his fifth triple of the half and Clark III knocked down a top of the key three as time expired, to give the Dukes a 37-36 lead at the break.

ICE COLD
In spite of shooting over 48.0 percent from the floor and 53.0 percent from deep in the opening half, the tables had turned for the Dukes late in the final 20 minutes. Trailing 42-41 with just over 18:00 minutes remaining, Duquesne registered a 9-0 scoring run, giving them its biggest lead of the game, 50-42. Clark III made 1-of-2 from the line before knocking down a jumper to spark the run. After a steal by Clark III, Grant connected on a jumper from behind the arc, followed by a triple from Frazier to cap the spurt. Santa Clara answered with a 10-5 stint, trimming the Dukes lead with 12:33 remaining. Later in the half, a Grant triple gave Duquesne another eight-point advantage before the Dukes went stagnant. Over the final eight minutes, the Broncos ended the contest on a 25-9 run, where Duquesne finished 1-of-14 shooting from the floor. The Broncos ended 5-of-8 from the field, with a pair of triples during that span, while converting 13-of-18 free-throws. Duquesne saw most of its scoring come from the charity stripe in closing minutes as it finished 7-of-13 from the line.

WHO DAE? … DAE DAE
Senior guard Dae Dae Grant assembled a career afternoon, finishing with a career-best 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor. He tied his career-high with seven three-pointers while collecting five rebounds and three assists. Grant scored 20 of his 32 points in the first half, joining teammate Jimmy Clark III, who conquered the same honor a season ago against La Salle. He was 7-for-10 (70.0 percent) from the floor and shot at a 71.4 percent (5-of-7) clip from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Ohio native finished a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe, pushing his streak to 21 consecutive free-throws made. Grant has now scored in double-figures in all 11 games this season while netting double-digits in 13 straight dating back to last season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Senior guard Jimmy Clark III was the second Duke in double-figures, finishing with 14 points with three triples. He corralled five boards, dished out three assists, and collected a steal. Kareem Rozier ended with six points, two assists and two steals while Halil Barre tallied five caroms.

UP NEXT
The Dukes are back in action Saturday, Dec. 30, when they wrap up non-conference action by hosting Cleary inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m.
  
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