GAME 13
Duquesne (9-3 | 0-0 A-10) at Massachusetts (9-3 | 0-0 A-10)
Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Amherst, Mass. | Mullins Center (9,434)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Jay Burnham & Frank Sullivan
Radio: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team opens Atlantic 10 play Wednesday, Jan. 3, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Massachusetts at the Mullins Center.
 
- The Dukes are 24-23 (.511) all-time in conference openers, including a 24-22 (.522) mark in A-10 openers (DU was a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1992-93).
 
- Wednesday marks the fourth time in program history Duquesne is opening its Atlantic 10 slate at Massachusetts, having won two of the previous three meetings. Included in that stretch is a 78-74 win at the Mullins Center Jan. 8, 2022.
 
- The Dukes wrapped up the 2023 calendar year with a 95-47 win over Cleary at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Dec. 30, their fifth win in the last six games. Jimmy Clark III and Dusan Mahorcic tied for game-high honors in scoring with 15 points each, combining to shoot a perfect 11-for-11 from the field. Clark III knocked down each of his six shots from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
 
- Guard Dae Dae Grant enters Atlantic 10 play leading the conference in scoring at 19.1 points per game. He finished with nine points in the win over Cleary but handed out a season-high five assists. Grant and Clark III each have scored in double figures 11 time this season to pace Duquesne.  
 
- Forward Tre Williams is 53 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 985 and 748 career points, respectively, while forward Andrei Savrasov has scored 954 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 1,911 points at the NCAA Division I level. He is also 89 points shy of 2,000 for his career.
 
- When holding opponents to less than 70 points under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 62-16 (.795), including a 6-0 mark during the 2023-24 season.
 
- The Dukes continue a two-game road swing to open Atlantic 10 action after taking on UMass Wednesday, traveling to Chicago, Ill., Saturday, Jan. 6, for a 4:00 p.m. ET tip at Loyola Chicago.
 
Scouting the Minutemen – Wednesday's game marks the 72nd meeting in the all-time series between Duquesne and Massachusetts in a series that dates back to Jan. 11, 1975. UMass leads the series, 42-29, but the Dukes have won four of the last six meetings between the two programs. Last season the two programs split the season series, with each winning on its own home court. UMass posted an 87-79 win at the Mullins Center before Duquesne earned an 88-79 triumph at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes win last season over the Minutemen was the 2022-23 home finale at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, with Jimmy Clark III and David Dixon combining for 31 points and nine steals in an 88-79 victory. Clark III paced Duquesne with 18 points and five thefts. UMass, which was picked to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason poll, is in its second season under head coach Frank Martin. The Minutemen lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 84.1 points per game.
 
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. He became just the fourth head coach in program history to reach 100 victories thanks to a 95-47 win over Cleary, 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 with a 75-52 triumph over George Mason. Dambrot owns an overall record of 513-296 (.634) during his career as a head coach, and his father, Sid, was part of Duquesne teams that finished ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 in 1952 (No. 4), 1953 (No. 9) and 1954 (No. 5). The 1954 team, which went 26-3, made it to No. 1 in the AP poll for two weeks in February of 1954. The Dukes played in both the NCAA tournament and NIT in 1952 and the NIT in both 1953 and 1954.
 
Cleary Leftovers – The game between Duquesne and Cleary marked the first meeting between the two programs ... The Cougars are led by Carl Thomas, who was named head coach at Cleary in 2022 after spending five years on the coaching staff at Duquesne ... The Dukes never trailed and shot a season-high 52.2 percent (36-for-69) from the field ... Duquesne improved to 26-2 (.929) under head coach Keith Dambrot when converting at least 50 percent of its attempts from the field ... The Dukes have won nine consecutive games dating to the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign when shooting 50 percent or better ... Duquesne's 79-25 lead (+54) with 9:44 to play is its largest lead in seven seasons under Dambrot ... All 18 student-athletes for the Dukes saw action ... Duquesne set season highs for points in the paint (54), points off turnovers (37), second-chance points (20) and bench points (46).
 
One More Night In Hollywood – Duquesne wrapped up 2023 by finishing with a 4-1 (.800) record in December and enters a new year with nine victories. It marks the 10th time in the last 17 years the Dukes will enter Atlantic 10 play with at least nine wins, including the fifth time in seven seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot. Senior guard Dae Dae Grant paced Duquesne in December by averaging 18.6 points per game, while senior guard Jimmy Clark III provided averages of 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals while shooting 50 percent (27-for-54) from the field.
 
The Front Line – Duquesne has been bolstered in its frontcourt with the return of Dusan Mahorcic, who tied for team-high honors in scoring in a 95-47 win over Cleary with 15 points. Mahorcic shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and was 5-for-7 at the free-throw line in just over seven minutes of action. His addition to the rotation could open up other opportunities for the likes of forwards Andrei Savrasov and David Dixon. During the month of December, Savrasov averaged 9.6 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds while converting 58.6 percent (17-for-29) of his shots from the floor, while Dixon shot 53.8 percent (14-for-26) in the same time frame in averaging 8.0 points and 3.8 caroms per contest. Dixon also leads the Dukes in dunks on the season with 13.
 
💯 – Senior guard Dae Dae Grant paced the Dukes against Santa Clara at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., with a career-high 32 points, marking the first game of his career eclipsing the 30-point plateau. Grant shot 9-for-18 from the field, including 7-for-14 from beyond the arc in tying a career high for three-point field goals, while also going 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. It also marked the 100th game of Grant's NCAA Division I career reaching double figures. In his two years with the Dukes, Grant has reached double figures 39 times, with Duquesne owning a 28-11 (.718) in those contests. Ironically, Grant scored at least 10 points in a game 28 times during the 2022-23 season and has also reached double figures in 11 games for the Dukes in 2023-24.
 
Chalk Talk – Senior guard Dae Dae Grant has proven to be adept at the free-throw line during his career, and those numbers have only been amplified in his two seasons at Duquesne. Having established a new program record for consecutive free throws (43) made this season, Grant enters Wednesday's game at Massachusetts having knocked down each of his last 24 attempts at the line in the last four games. Grant has successfully converted 67 of his last 68 chances (98.5%) at the free-throw line since the season opener against Cleveland State and overall this season is shooting 94.7 percent (72-for-76) from the stripe. In addition to ranking second in the Atlantic 10 in free-throw percentage, Grant sits 10th in NCAA Division I and tied for 20th in total free throws made.
 
Did You Know? Senior Dae Dae Grant, who has hit at least one three-pointer in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season, has drained 129 triples in 45 career games at Duquesne, an average of 2.87 per contest. Grant is just five three-pointers shy of cracking the top 10 in program history in the category, as former guard Jimmy Tricco (2002-04) sits 10th in three-point field goals with 134.
 
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