Dayton, Ohio – The Duquesne University men's basketball team concluded a two-game road swing Tuesday, falling to No. 16 Dayton, 75-59, at UD Arena. The Dukes slipped to 14-10 (.583) overall during the 2023-24 season, including 4-7 (.364) in the Atlantic 10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
A driving layup from senior guard
Jimmy Clark III gave the Dukes a 57-53 edge with 6:39 to go, but Dayton used a 22-0 run to open up a 75-57 lead with 15 seconds remaining. Clark III snapped a scoreless streak of over six minutes with a layup to close the scoring. During the surge for Dayton (20-4 / 10-2 A-10), the Flyers visited the free-throw line 13 times, converting 10. DaRon Holmes II pushed Dayton in front for good, 58-57, with 5:28 to go after a pair at the stripe. It was the third of five consecutive possessions in which the Flyers went to the free-throw line. Holmes would provide a layup with 4:18 left to give Dayton a 64-57 lead, and a three-pointer from the corner by Koby Brea helped seal the win.
QUOTABLE
"Hats off to Dayton," head coach
Keith Dambrot said. "Kind of a misleading score. They have the best player in the league and he made plays. We didn't do a good enough job getting to the free-throw line. They did. We made some mistakes, and we missed some open shots. I don't think it was a 16-point game. They have a good team and understand how to win."
FORWARD PROGRESS
The Dukes opened up a 20-9 lead at the 10:32 mark of the first half after a driving layup from Clark III, forcing Dayton to call timeout. In the opening nine-and-a-half minutes of the contest Duquesne received a balanced attack offensively, including six points from forward
David Dixon and five each from Clark III and guard
Jake DiMichele. Meanwhile, the Flyers hit just one of their first seven shots from the field. Out of a Dayton timeout after the layup from Clark III, the Flyers used a 15-4 burst to tie it, 24-24. Clark III would drill a triple to give the Dukes a three-point advantage before the Flyers grabbed their first lead, 29-27, on a layup from Holmes II. Dayton eventually owned a 36-33 cushion at halftime.
FIVE AGAINST ONE
Until a three-pointer from forward
Fousseyni Drame pushed Duquesne on top, 55-53, at the 7:56 mark of the second half, a rotation of five Dukes had scored. Clark III paced Duquesne with 14 points and added four assists, while DiMichele contributed 12 points and three dimes. Guard
Dae Dae Grant and Dixon each scored 11, with Dixon also rejecting a pair of shots. The Dukes also got a burst from forward
Dusan Mahorcic, who shot 4-for-5 from the field and scored eight points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Dayton finished 16-for-23 (69.6%) at the free-throw line in the win Tuesday, with the Dukes finishing just 1-for-3 (33.3%). It marks the lowest free throws and attempts from the stripe in seven years under head coach
Keith Dambrot. Both teams converted 26 field goals, with the Dukes shooting an even 50 percent on the game.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns home to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for its next two games, beginning Saturday, Feb. 17, with a 2:30 p.m. tip against Saint Joseph's in a game that can be seen live on the USA Network.
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