GAME 5
South Dakota State (4-1) vs. Duquesne (0-4)
Cayman Islands Classic
Sunday, Nov. 23, 2024 | 1:30 p.m.
George Town, Grand Cayman | John Gray Gymnasium (2,000)
 
Stream: Flo Sports with Matt Martucci and Jess Settles
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) and Noah Buono ('22)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team travels to George Town, Grand Cayman, to open play in the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. tip against South Dakota State at John Gray Gymnasium.

- Also in the field for the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic is Boise State, Boston College, Hampton, High Point, Old Dominion and Missouri State. The Dukes will face either Boise State or Hampton in the second round.
 
- The Dukes are in search of their first win of the Dru Joyce III era after falling to Milwaukee, 80-74, at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, in their last outing. Duquesne closed to within 54-53 in the second half against Milwaukee and was also down, 58-56, before the Panthers used a 10-0 burst to pull away.
 
- Off the bench against the Panthers, sophomore guard Jake DiMichele scored 19 of his career-high 21 points in the second half to lead Duquesne. He converted nine of his 13 shots from the field, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, and also added four rebounds (three offensive), three assists and a pair of steals.
 
- Senior guard Tre Dinkins III added 20 points against Milwaukee on the strength of a 4-for-9 performance from deep as well as a perfect 6-for-6 showing at the free-throw line.
 
- Sunday's game against the Jackrabbits is the first of three games in three days for Duquesne as part of the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic, which features an eight-team field. Hampton and Boise State will open the tournament Sunday with an 11:00 a.m. tip from John Gray Gymnasium. Following the Dukes and Jackrabbits, Missouri State takes on High Point at 5:00 p.m. and Old Dominion and Boston College conclude the first day of action with a 7:30 p.m. tip.
 
- Duquesne is traveling outside the contiguous United States for an in-season tournament for the first time since November of 2021, when the Dukes finished 1-2 at the at the Paradise Jam under former head coach Keith Dambrot in St. Thomas, which is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Duquesne opened the event with losses to Northeastern, 71-55, and Colorado, 84-76, before earning a 78-70 win over Bradley.
 
- In November of 2019, also under Dambrot, Duquesne traveled to Bimini, Bahamas, and finished 3-0 at the Junkaroo Jam, earning wins over Indiana State (74-71), Air Force (69-63) and Loyola Marymount (71-50). It was part of a 10-0 start to the 2019-20 campaign for the Dukes.
 
- The Dukes haven't played three consecutive days since the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., in November of 2015. During that stretch, Duquesne opened with an 84-70 loss to Pepperdine (Nov. 23) before rebounding to earn a 96-92 victory over Milwaukee (Nov. 24) and an 81-73 triumph over Western Kentucky (Nov. 25).
 
At The Helm – Dru Joyce III was named the 18th head coach in the 109-year history of Duquesne basketball March 28, 2024. Joyce III, a native of Akron, Ohio, spent two seasons as associate head coach for the Dukes under Keith Dambrot from 2022 to 2024, helping guide Duquesne to an overall record of 45-25 (.643), including a 20-16 (.556) mark in the Atlantic 10, during that span. The Dukes made an appearance in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) before earning the automatic bid for the A-10 in the 2024 NCAA Championship by winning four games in five days en route to the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship crown in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Barclays Center. Duquesne, as a No. 11 seed, made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1977 and earned its first victory in the championship since 1969 thanks to a 71-67 win over No. 6 seed BYU in Omaha, Neb., at CHI Health Center Arena. 
 
Scouting the Jackrabbits – Summit League member ... located in Brookings, S.D. ... The Jackrabbits and Dukes have never faced off on the hardwood, with the meeting in the first round of the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic the first between the two programs ... Of the nine programs that currently make up the Summit League, Duquesne has faced four of them, including Denver, North Dakota State, Omaha and Oral Roberts ... The Dukes split a home-and-home series with Oral Roberts during the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons, winning at home, 68-67, before dropping an 87-83 decision in Tulsa, Okla. ... The Dukes are also 0-1 against both Denver and North Dakota State ... Duquesne faced Denver in the 2002 San Juan Shootout in Caguas, Puerto Rico, falling, 49-48 ... As part of the 2012 Legends Classic, the Dukes lost to North Dakota State, 57-43, at the A.J. Palumbo Center ... In its last meeting against a member of the Summit League, the Dukes defeated Omaha, 120-112, in the first round of the 2016 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) at the Palumbo Center ... The 232 combined points are the most between two teams are the most in school history ... In the win, guard Derrick Coulter scored a career-high 28 points as six different Dukes scored in double figures ... The Mavericks, meanwhile, also had six players reach double figures in scoring, including 37 from Devin Patterson, who shot 9-of-19 from the field, including 6-for-13 from deep, while going 13-for-14 at the free-throw line ... Of Patterson's 37 points for Omaha, 33 came in the second half ... The 120 points by Duquesne is tied for the fourth highest total in program history in a game ... South Dakota State is led by head coach Eric Henderson, who is in his sixth year at the helm ... Henderson has guided the Jackrabbits to the postseason five times, including NCAA Tournament bids in 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2024 as well as the 2019 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ... SDSU is led by senior center Oscar Cluff, a 6'11" native of Australia who averages a double-double with 17.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest ... Cluff has opened the first five games of the 2024-25 season converting 67.3 percent (35-for-52) of his attempts from the field ... Redshirt freshman guard Joe Sayler, a native of White River, S.D., contributes 16.3 points per contest ... South Dakota State averages 83.8 points per game and has outrebounded its opponents this year by an average of 13.4 boards per contest.  
 
Milwaukee Leftovers – The Panthers tied the all-time series with the Dukes, 1-1 ... Milwaukee hit two of its first three attempts from the three-point line but finished 7-for-20 (35%) overall, a season low by a Duquesne opponent ... The Panthers converted 51.9 percent (27-for-52) of their attempts from the floor ... The two teams combined to shoot 64.2 percent (34-for-53) from the free-throw line, with the Dukes finishing 15-of-23 ... Sophomore forward Eli Wilborn grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Duquesne ... The 21 points from sophomore guard Jake DiMichele as a reserve helped the Duquesne bench own a 39-13 edge over Milwaukee.
 
Depth Charge – A total of six different Dukes have scored in double figures in the first four games of the 2024-25 season, proving the length the lineup owns. The latest student-athlete to join the fray was sophomore guard Jake DiMichele, who supplied 11 points off the bench at DePaul. DiMichele followed up his performance against the Blue Demons with a career-high 21 points to lead Duquesne against Milwaukee. Against the Panthers, DiMichele shot 9-of-13 from the floor and also grabbed four rebounds while tallying three assists and a pair of steals. DiMichele has opened the 2024-25 campaign converting 54.1 percent (20-for-37) of his shots from the field.
 
Dinkin Donuts – Senior guard Tre Dinkins III has started each of the last two games for Duquesne and provided a lift against Milwaukee. He contributed 20 points against the Panthers on the strength of a 4-for-9 performance from beyond the arc as well as a perfect 6-for-6 showing at the free-throw line. In addition to his 20-point performance as a member of the Dukes, it marked the seventh career game of his NCAA Division I career reaching the 20-point threshold in a game. Dinkins enters the Cayman Islands Classic shooting 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from downtown.
 
David On The Block – Junior forward David Dixon ranked seventh in the Atlantic 10 last year with an average of 1.62 blocks per game and also finished the year with 38 of the 83 dunks (45.8%) for Duquesne. Dixon is just 22 dunks shy of becoming the second member of the Dukes on record with 100 to his career credit after registering his first of the season at DePaul. The most in program history is Damian Saunders, who rattled the rim 166 times during his career from 2008 to 2011. In addition, Dixon is just 11 rejections shy of 100 career blocks, owning an average of 1.31 blocks per contest in his 68 career games on the Bluff.
 
Did You Know? The Dukes finished 12-0 last season when first to reach 70 points against an opponent and have won 31 consecutive games when turning the trick.
 
Paint By Numbers – Duquesne has done a solid job attacking the basket in its first four games of the 2024-25 season, averaging 30.5 points in the paint. Included in that average is 38 points in the lane in the 2024-25 season opener against Lipscomb. To put that into perspective, the Dukes exceeded that number just four times during the 2023-24 season, finishing 4-0 when scoring at least 40 points in the paint in a game.
 
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