Amherst, Mass. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team opened its Atlantic 10 schedule Wednesday, dropping an 80-61 decision to Massachusetts at the Mullins Center. The Dukes dipped to 9-4 (.692) overall during the 2023-24 season, including 0-1 in the A-10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Senior guard
Dae Dae Grant went to the free-throw line and knocked down a trio at the stripe to pull the Dukes to within 46-44 early in the second half, but UMass (10-3 / 1-0 A-10) responded with a 7-0 run to grab a 53-44 edge with 13:45 to go. Jayden Ndjigue started the burst with a three-point play after a bucket and foul from forward
Halil Barre, while Rahsool Diggins buried a jumper with the shot clock winding down and Keon Thompson converted in the lane on a fastbreak. A 16-0 surge would help Massachusetts grab its biggest lead of the contest, 73-52, with 6:24 remaining.
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"We self-destructed," head coach
Keith Dambrot said. "They played well. They're good at what they do because their roles and definitions are really good. We cut the game back and then we turned the ball over or took bad shots. Every time we made a run we kept fouling. That's just bad discipline at both ends, both offensively and defensively. We were disjointed. Our biggest thing is we have to play better together. When we cut it back to four, we turned it over twice in a row. We have to share the ball better."
STRIPES
UMass owned a 40-32 edge at the break in large part due to getting to the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes. At the 6:41 mark of the opening stanza the Minutemen owned as many free throws (14) as attempts from the field before Grant stepped to the line for the Dukes to convert a pair. Overall in the first half Massachusetts was 16-for-20 at the stripe (80%), including a 5-for-5 performance from Rahsool Diggins, while Jaylen Curry finished 4-for-4. UMass visited the chalk more times in the first half than seven of Duquesne's first 12 opponents went to the line in the whole game to open the year. The Minutemen finished 24-for-34 (70.6%) overall at the stripe, a season-high in attempts at the line by a Duquesne foe.
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"It was a four-point game and I thought we were in pretty good shape considering the circumstances," Dambrot said. "Then we melted down. Probably our biggest issue right now is we haven't been able to throw the ball inside and score. That makes you a little up and down because you're relying on the perimeter. We haven't been able to throw it in there and score. The biggest thing for us is changing our mindset that we're going to play better together. Clearly we didn't handle adversity really well. It's a matter of playing the right way all the time and playing for each other instead of playing for ourselves."
GRANT STREET
Grant paced Duquesne in its Atlantic 10 opener with 18 points, while senior guard
Jimmy Clark III also reached double figures with 16. Grant gave the Dukes an early 8-2 advantage on consecutive three-pointers, including the second off a steal. He added four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals against the Minutemen while going 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. Grant stretched his streak for consecutive free throws made to 29 before missing his final attempt of the contest during the front end of a one-and-one in the second half. Having established a program record for consecutive free throws made earlier this season with 43, Grant concluded a stretch in which he knocked down 72 of 73 chances (98.6%) at the line before missing his final one Wednesday against UMass. Off the bench, Barre contributed a career-high eight points and four rebounds in just over 11 minutes of action, all of which came in the second half. The Dukes shot 36.2 percent (21-for-58) overall.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Duquesne was able to keep the leading scorer for UMass, Josh Cohen, in check. Saddled with his fourth foul early in the second half, Cohen finished with just two points in under 15 minutes of action. He shot just 1-for-6 from the floor, suffered three turnovers and finished with a pair of rebounds. Diggins was the main offensive force Wednesday for the Minuteman, leading five players in double figures with 16 points. Curry and Matt Cross each added 15 for Massachusetts, which shot 57.7 percent (15-for-26) in the second half and 52.9 percent (27-for-51) overall.
UP NEXT
Duquesne heads to Chicago, Ill., to conclude a two-game road trip to open A-10 play Saturday, Jan. 6, with a 4:00 p.m. ET tip against Loyola-Chicago in a game that will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
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