GAME 20
Chicago State (11-15) vs. Duquesne (11-8)
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
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 wraps up a three-game homestand at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Wednesday, Jan. 30, with its final non-conference tilt of the 2023-24 season, a 7:00 p.m. tip against NCAA Division I independent Chicago State.
 
- The Dukes are 2-0 on their homestand after a 68-59 victory over Fordham as freshman guard Jake DiMichele scored a career-high 15 points in the win.
 
- Senior guard Jimmy Clark III added 12 points and seven assists against the Rams, while sophomore forward David Dixon supplied 12 points, a team-high six rebounds and three blocks.
 
- Thanks to the win over Fordham, the Dukes improved to 31-1 (.969) in seven seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot when holding an opponent to less than 60 points, including 5-0 this year. Duquesne has also won 23 consecutive games dating back to 2019 when turning the trick.
 
- In the win over Fordham, senior guard Dae Dae Grant returned to the lineup after missing three games due to injury, contributing seven points, four rebounds and two assists, going 5-for-5 at the free-throw line.  
 
- Forward Fousseyni Drame reached the 1,000-point plateau at Saint Joseph's thanks to a free throw with 47 seconds remaining in the first half and contributed nine points and four rebounds against the Hawks. Drame enters Wednesday's game with 1,023 career points.
 
- Forward Tre Williams is 28 points shy of 1,000 for his career entering Wednesday's game against Chicago State. Williams has shot 49.6 percent (414-for-834) during his NCAA Division I career, including 46.5 percent (223-for-48) in two seasons at Duquesne.
 
- Guard Jimmy Clark III scored 404 points in his first season at Duquesne last season and owns 831 career points entering Wednesday's game against Chicago State. Clark III also needs 30 steals to crack the top 10 in program history for thefts, as Andy Sisinni (1981-84) currently ranks 10th with 148.
 
- Duquesne is 39-10 (.796) in non-conference home games under seventh-year head coach Keith Dambrot.
 
- When holding opponents to less than 70 points in seven years under Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 64-17 (.790), including an 8-1 (.889) mark during the 2023-24 campaign. The Dukes have won 13 consecutive non-conference games dating back to the 2021-22 season when turning the trick.
 
- Duquesne returns to the road as well as Atlantic 10 play after hosting Chicago State Wednesday, traveling to South Kingston, R.I., for a 12:30 p.m. tip Saturday, Feb. 3, against Rhode Island at the Ryan Center.
 
Scouting the Cougars – Wednesday marks the first game between Duquesne and Chicago State, which is in its second season as an independent NCAA Division I member. The Cougars will join the Northeast Conference (NEC) as a full member July 1, 2024. Chicago State has played NCAA Division I athletics since 1984-85 and has had stints in the East Coast Conference (1993-94), Mid-Continent Conference (1994-2006), Great West Conference (2009-13) and Western Athletic Conference (2013-22). The Cougars own an overall record of 11-15 (.423) and have been led by junior guard Wesley Cardet, Jr., who is averaging 18.8 points per game. Cardet, Jr., owns a team-high 37 three-pointers and is shooting 45.5 percent (157-for-345) from the field and 70.4 percent (119-for-169) at the free-throw line. Chicago State rides a four-game winning streak into Wednesday's game against the Dukes, including wins over FDU (75-74) and Stetson (77-70), and is coming off a 108-58 win over St. Xavier (Illinois). In a 131-55 triumph over East-West University during its four-game surge, guard Jahsean Corbett notched a triple-double for Chicago State with 27 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists.
 
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 515-301 (.631) 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.
 
Fordham Leftovers – The Dukes snapped a four-game losing streak against the Rams and improved to 29-20 (.592) in the all-time series ... Duquesne trailed at halftime, 28-27, but held Fordham to just 34.5 percent (10-for-29) from the floor in the second half ... Overall the Rams shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57) ... Elijah Gray garnered game-high honors in scoring with 19 points for Fordham while also grabbing eight rebounds ... Duquesne owned a 46-32 advantage in points in the paint and also outscored Fordham in points off turnovers (15-7) and bench points (34-11) ... The Dukes owned their biggest lead, 64-52, with 2:30 to play ... Forward Fousseyni Drame hit the only three-pointer for Duquesne at the 2:47 mark of the second half, which snapped an 0-for-12 drought from beyond the arc ... The Dukes have hit at least one three-pointer in 566 consecutive games.
 
412 Heroes – Wednesday's game against Chicago State marks Duquesne's 412 Heroes Night, presented by Giant Eagle. In conjunction with the Veterans Leadership Program (VLP), Duquesne Athletics will honor military personnel, veterans and first responders. Duquesne will also be collecting items for the VLP Pantry Restock, including paper products, hygiene products, nonperishable food items, cleaning products and household items. Duquesne will honor Scean Lawhorn at a media timeout Wednesday, an eight-year veteran of the Army who spent time in Saudi Arabia and Iran as part of Desert Storm. Retired after 25 years with the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Lawhorn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Duquesne in December of 2020 and is currently working toward a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling.
 
Oh That's Dave – Sophomore forward David Dixon helped the Dukes score 46 points in the paint in a 68-59 victory over Fordham, the highest total by Duquesne this season in the category against an NCAA Division I opponent, by contributing 12 points while also grabbing a team-high six rebounds. Over his last six games, Dixon has supplied the Dukes with averages of 9.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while converting 53.5 percent (23-for-43) of his shots from the field. Included in that stretch is a career-high 19 points to pace Duquesne in its second Atlantic 10 game of the year at Loyola Chicago. Dixon ranks seventh in the A-10 this season in blocks per game (1.7) and also owns a team-high 18 dunks for the Dukes.
 
Clark Kent – Senior guard Jimmy Clark III was key for Duquesne directing traffic in a 68-59 win over Fordham, as he handed out a game-high seven assists while suffering just one turnover as the Dukes scored 46 points in the paint in the victory. He also added 12 points and a block in his 50th career start at Duquesne. The program's active leader for consecutive games (52) and starts (37), Clark III notched his team-high 17th double-figure scoring game in the win over the Rams. Clark III has handed out at least seven assists a total of five times over the last two seasons, with the Dukes a perfect 5-0 in those contests. Included in that stretch is a career-high nine dimes in a 76-62 victory over Saint Joseph's last season at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Entering Wednesday's non-conference finale against Chicago State, Clark III ranks in the top 10 in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, assists and steals. In addition to pacing the conference in thefts with an average of 2.2 per game, Clark III ranks ninth in scoring (15.6 ppg) and 10th in assists (3.6 apg).
 
Defensively Speaking – Thanks to a 68-59 win over Fordham, Duquesne improved to 31-1 (.969) in seven seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot when holding an opponent under 60 points, including 23 consecutive wins dating back to 2019. The only loss for the Dukes under Dambrot when holding an opponent to less than 60 points came against St. Bonaventure, a 51-49 setback at the A.J. Palumbo Center Feb. 6, 2019. A key area the Dukes have tightened up defensively? Limiting good looks from beyond the arc. Over the last two games, Duquesne has held opponents to just 17.1 percent (6-for-35) shooting from deep and overall enters Wednesday's non-conference finale against Chicago State having held opponents to just 27.7 percent (31-for-112) since the calendar has switched to 2024.
 
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 year, Grant converted his first five free throws in the Atlantic 10 opener for the Dukes at Massachusetts before missing his final opportunity of the contest, snapping a  streak of 29 consecutive free throws. Since the season opener against Cleveland State, where he hit his final three free throws as part of an 8-for-11 performance, Grant has converted 82 of his last 84 chances (97.6%) at the line. Grant enters Wednesday's game against Chicago State leading the Atlantic 10 in free-throw percentage at 94.6 percent (87-for-92), a success rate that also ranks third in NCAA Division I.
 
Straight Line – In addition to ranking third in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage entering Wednesday's game against Chicago State, senior guard Dae Dae Grant is looking to make a run at the record book at Duquesne from the stripe. The single-season and career school records are held by former guard Rick Suder (1983-86). During the 1985-86 season, Suder shot 91.8 percent (135-for-147) from the chalk to establish the single-season mark. His career success rate of 87.7 percent (342-for-390) stands as the career record. Grant has shot 90.7 percent (176-for-194) during his two seasons with the Dukes.
 
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