Pittsburgh, Pa. – Dji Bailey's layup with 13.8 seconds left proved to be the difference as Richmond earned a 63-61 win over the Duquesne University men's basketball team Tuesday at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes slipped to 9-7 (.562) overall during the 2023-24 season, including 0-4 in the Atlantic 10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne called timeout after the bucket from Bailey, and out of the break senior guard
Jimmy Clark III drove the lane and was fouled with 3.5 seconds left. Clark III missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity and purposely missed the second, however Richmond came up with the deadball rebound. The Dukes fouled with 2.5 seconds remaining, sending Isaiah Bigelow to the stripe for the one-and-one. He missed the attempt, with forward
Fousseyni Drame grabbing the rebound. Duquesne called a timeout, and out of the break Clark III got to halfcourt before unleashing a heave as the buzzer sounded that was off the mark. The Spiders closed the game on a 12-2 run to collect their seventh consecutive win.
QUOTABLE
"Not making plays down the stretch," sophomore guard
Kareem Rozier said. "We didn't recover well and didn't respond to the run they went on. We played for 37 minutes. The last three minutes we didn't make enough plays. I'm proud how everyone stepped up. It's a next man up mentality, and we did that tonight. Just didn't get the win. We have a good group of guys in that locker room. That's one thing I do love about the team. A four-game losing streak is tough, but we just have to keep bringing it every day in practice. We're taking huge steps game-by-game, we're just not coming out with wins right now."
TOP TO BOTTOM
A balanced effort Tuesday that saw freshman guard
Jake DiMichele earn his first collegiate start and forward
Dusan Mahorcic earn his first start at Duquesne, the Dukes grabbed the lone double-digit lead of the contest, 25-15, with 7:54 to go in the opening half after a floating jumper from sophomore
David Dixon. The Spiders scored the next eight points of the contest to close to within 25-23, but Duquesne answered with a three-point play from Mahorcic and a hook shot from forward
Tre Williams to push its advantage to 30-23 en route to a 33-28 edge at the break. Six different players scored at least five points against Richmond (12-5 / 4-0 A-10), with Clark III leading the way with 16.
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"I feel bad for our guys because we made some mistakes, but for the most part we played well," head coach
Keith Dambrot said. "We played hard. We've had trouble in the last four minutes of games, but we had them on the ropes. We didn't get any breaks. We didn't make any plays, either. Ultimately when we lose games like that it's my responsibility, but I'm not quitting. I think we have a team that can win, we just haven't yet. Our guys showed that they're a good team, but they just couldn't finish the job. We just have to continue to learn and get better. The sum of the parts is the most important thing. The whole and how it all blends together. We tried to do the right things tonight, which is encouraging. We just didn't win."
EXTENDING
A three-pointer from Rozier gave Duquesne a 39-30 lead early in the second half before Richmond closed to within 41-38, but the Dukes were able to keep the Spiders at bay the majority of the half before the final run. Neal Quinn, who tied for game-high honors in scoring with 16 points while also grabbing eight rebounds, converted in the paint to make it 45-44 in favor of the Dukes, while Jason Roche buried a three-pointer at 9:29 to tie it, 47-47. Sophomore
Matúŝ Hronský answered with a triple of his own, which ignited a 12-4 surge that opened up a 59-51 cushion for Duquesne.
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"We did what we had to do, we just didn't finish," Dambrot said. "It's the consistency of being able to make plays when it really matters. It's relaxing and finishing the plays. You have to get paint touches, whether it's post feeds or drives. Tonight was a starting point where we didn't have to rely totally on our perimeter shooting. We have good, high-character guys that are going to continue to battle and go to work. They're not happy. They want to win. We need a couple wins before we can get our mojo back."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Dukes handed out 14 assists against Richmond while suffering just nine turnovers, the fourth time this season Duquesne has finished under 10 miscues. Seven different players recorded an assist against the Spiders, with Clark III leading the way with four in addition to tying for game-high honors in scoring. Also reaching double figures for Duquesne was Dixon, who scored 12 points and finished with six rebounds. Drame and Rozier each scored eight, while Williams finished with six points and tied Dixon with six boards.
UP NEXT
Duquesne heads to Philadelphia, Pa., Saturday, Jan. 20, for a 2:30 p.m. tip against Saint Joseph's at Hagan Arena in a game that can be seen live on the USA Network.
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