George Town, Grand Cayman – The Duquesne University men's basketball team opened play in the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic Sunday, dropping a 71-60 decision to South Dakota State at John Gray Gymnasium. The Dukes fell to 0-5 during the 2024-25 season.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Redshirt junior guard
Maximus Edwards gave Duquesne a 51-49 lead with 9:39 to play with a three-pointer from the wing, but Joe Sayler answered for the Jackrabbits, connecting from downtown at 8:54 to ignite a 13-0 run that pushed South Dakota State in front, 62-51, with 5:14 remaining. Oscar Cluff, who entered the contest averaging a double-double for the Jackrabbits, was the main offensive force during the burst, scoring eight points. Senior guard
Tre Dinkins III helped snap a scoreless drought of almost five minutes for Duquesne with a jumper with 4:43 to go, but SDSU pushed its lead back to double digits after a pair of free throws from Matthew Mors. Cluff would give the Jackrabbits their biggest cushion, 68-55, with a layup off a feed from Sayler with 2:41 remaining.
BACK AND FORTH
The contest featured nine ties and 10 lead changes, with neither team owning a lead of larger than six until the deciding run for South Dakota State. Tied, 33-33, entering the second half, Duquesne scored the first six points after the break to grab a 39-33 lead. Each of the three buckets came at the rim, with forward
Jahsean Corbett providing a layup to open the scoring, Dinkins adding a driving layup off a turnover and forward
David Dixon completing an alley-oop at the rim off a feed from Edwards. South Dakota State (5-1) came back to tie it, 43-43, after a three-pointer from Kalen Garry, setting up the back-and-forth affair down the stretch.
ARC
Garry led all scorers in the contest with 20 points, finishing 5-for-7 from three and 7-of-10 from the field overall. He also added four assists but suffered five turnovers. As a team, SDSU shot 47.6 percent (10-for-21) from beyond the arc, as Owen Larson added a 3-for-6 performance en route to 11 points. Duquesne, meanwhile, launched 38 shots from downtown against the Jackrabbits, the highest total for the Dukes since firing 39 (converting 12) in a 91-77 victory over Mississippi Valley State at the Palumbo Center Dec. 1, 2015. Dinkins III led Duquesne Sunday against South Dakota State with 19 points while also contributing three assists and a pair of steals. He finished 7-for-13 from the floor, including 4-for-9 from the arc.
NOTES
The Dukes fell behind in the first half, 32-28, after a three-pointer from Garry at 3:11 but closed the opening stanza on a 5-1 burst to tie it at the break, 33-33 … Dinkins III sent the game knotted into halftime with a three-pointer with 33 seconds left in the first half … Sophomore guard
Jake DiMichele chipped in 10 points for the Dukes off the bench … Junior forward
Chabi Barre made his 2024-25 season debut against South Dakota State and contributed two points, a pair of rebounds and a block in 14:36 … Duquesne finished 23-for-61 (37.7%) from the field … Cluff, who entered the game averaging 17.8 points and 11.4 rebounds for the Jackrabbits, reached his season averages thanks to his late flurry, notching 17 points and 11 boards … The Dukes held a 17-9 edge in points off turnovers, forcing South Dakota State into 16 miscues … Four players finished with at least two steals as Duquesne registered a season-high nine as a team.
UP NEXT
Duquesne will face Hampton Monday, Nov. 25, at 11:00 a.m. at John Gray Gymnasium in its second game of the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic. The Pirates opened the tournament Sunday by dropping an 83-69 decision to Boise State.
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