Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team earned back-to-back wins in the Atlantic 10 Saturday, using a late run to grab a 68-59 victory over Fordham at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes improved to 11-8 (.579) overall during the 2023-24 season, including 2-5 (.286) in the Atlantic 10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Elijah Gray buried a three-pointer from the top of the key with 7:28 to go and give the Rams a 47-44 lead, which capped a 9-0 run. Duquesne called timeout and out of the break responded with a 10-1 burst to grab the advantage back, 54-48, at the 4:48 mark. Freshman guard
Jake DiMichele's three-point play tied the contest for the fifth time, and sophomore forward
David Dixon gave the Dukes the lead for good with a steal and layup. Gray would be sent to the line at 5:54 but hit just one of his two attempts, and on the next possession DiMichele provided a floater in the lane to help keep Fordham (9-11 / 3-4 A-10) at bay.
QUOTABLE
"Our formula to win is going to be mud wrestling," head coach
Keith Dambrot said. "None of them are going to look very good, but if you play defense every night you have a chance. We certainly have improved defensively enough that we can hold our own with most people in this league. We've made it miserable for people. Results matter. It's hard enough to get them to play hard when you're winning, but it's really hard to coach when you lose. I give our guys and our coaching staff a lot of credit for just sticking at it. We just had to stay the course. You have to have good character that when you get hit in the mouth with the type of adversity we hit that you can come back from it. We have some deficiencies, but overall our ability is pretty good. You have to have good character to withstand what we went through."
SEALING THE DEAL
Less than three minutes to play and Duquesne 0-for-12 from beyond the arc to that point, the Dukes worked it inside with a 56-51 cushion looking to add to the lead. The ball was knocked out of bounds with two seconds left on the shot clock, and forward
Fousseyni Drame came up clutch, burying a three-pointer off a feed from guard
Jimmy Clark III from the corner to stretch the advantage to 60-51. The Dukes sealed the win at the charity stripe, going 8-for-10 in the final 2:30 of action. Duquesne finished just 1-for-13 (7.7%) from beyond the arc but also held Fordham to a 4-for-22 performance (18.2%) from international waters.
THE ROOKIE
DiMichele paced the Dukes with a career-high 15 points in the win, shooting 6-for-10 from the floor while going 3-for-5 at the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds, an assist and a steal to lead three players in double figures for Duquesne. Dixon and Clark III each contributed 12 points, with Dixon adding six rebounds, three steals and three blocks and Clark III posting seven assists against just one turnover.
QUOTABLE
"(Jake)'s one of our best players," Dambrot said. "All the way around. He's not scared. Doesn't matter if he makes shots. If he doesn't make shots, he drives it. He guards. Ever since he's played our three-point defense has improved because he contests shots. He's one of the reasons we've gotten better defensively. Overall his defensive ability has really helped us. That's one of the common denominators. He's a tough kid and has earned every minute. Nothing fazes him. He's capable of shooting the ball better than he has, but he does other things. He gets to the basket and he passes. We'd be in deep trouble without him. I can't say enough. He's saved us."
WELCOME BACK
Guard
Dae Dae Grant returned to the lineup after missing three games and came off the bench for the first time during his two years with the Dukes and contributed seven points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Grant finished 5-for-5 at the free-throw line but did not attempt a shot from beyond the arc and just three shots from the field overall. Entering the game leading the Atlantic 10 and ranking third in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage, Grant improved to 87-for-92 (94.6%) during the 2023-24 season. He has converted 82 of his last 84 chances (97.6%) at the line.
QUOTABLE
"Even when I wasn't playing I was still enjoying it," DiMichele said. "I love being here and I love this team. Being out there on the court is fun. I just try to soak in every moment I'm out there because you never know when it could be your last. I see guys becoming more accepting of whatever role they're going into. We started out 0-5. Guys started to buy in and accept their role, whatever that may be, two minutes, 20 minutes, whatever, and we win, then you have to be happy. We're doing a great job of guys buying into their role, and it's translating to wins now."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Held to 10 points in the paint, a season low, in a 54-50 win over St. Bonaventure, the Dukes responded by scoring 46 points in the category in the win over Fordham. Duquesne shot 47.1 percent (24-for-51) from the field against the Rams, but inside the three-point arc that percentage improved to 60.5 percent (23-for-38). It's the most points in the paint for Duquesne against an NCAA Division I opponent this season.
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up a three-game homestand with its final non-conference game of the 2023-24 campaign. The Dukes host Chicago State Wednesday, Jan. 31, for a 7:00 p.m. tip at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
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