Kingston, R.I. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team returned to Atlantic 10 play Saturday, stretching its winning streak to four with an 85-71 victory over Rhode Island at the Ryan Center. The Dukes improved to 13-8 (.619) overall during the 2023-24 season, including 3-5 (.375) in the Atlantic 10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
A pair of free throws from senior guard
Jimmy Clark III gave Duquesne a 63-44 advantage with 12:01 to go, just a minute-and-a-half after the Dukes owned their biggest cushion, 59-39, after a three-pointer from senior guard
Dae Dae Grant. The Rams would close to within 63-55 with 8:50 remaining, as a pair of free throws from Tyson Brown capped an 11-0 run for Rhode Island. Sophomore guard
Kareem Rozier helped stem the tide, burying a triple from the top of the key for the Dukes. David Green answered with a three-pointer of his own for the Rams, but Duquesne scored the next seven points of the game to take control. Grant converted a driving layup, while forward
Fousseyni Drame buried a three-pointer and provided a dunk off a feed from Clark III after a steal to extend the advantage for the Dukes to 73-58.
COMFORT ZONE
Duquesne entered Saturday's contest having connected on four of its last 33 attempts from beyond the arc in its previous two games, but the Dukes found their touch in the first half against the Rams. Finishing 7-for-15 from deep in the opening 20 minutes, Grant owned three of those triples as four different Dukes connected from three. An 18-4 run helped the Dukes turn a 22-18 deficit into a 36-26 lead with 3:17 remaining before the break as Grant scored 15 points in the first half to help bolster Duquesne to a 41-31 advantage at halftime. Rozier, guard
Jake DiMichele and forward
Tre Williams each connected from beyond the arc during the salvo. The Dukes finished by converting 14 of their 27 attempts from three, a season high in triples and three-point field goal percentage (51.9%).
FOR STARTERS
Duquesne featured its sixth different starting lineup in the last 10 games, with Grant returning to the starting five in place of Rozier. Clark III is now the only member of the Dukes to start all 21 games during the 2023-24 season and is the program's active leader for both consecutive games (54) and consecutive starting assignments (39). He was one of four Dukes to score in double figures in the win over the Rams (10-12 / 4-5 A-10) with 10 points while also adding five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. In shooting a season-high 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the floor, Rozier and Drame each scored 11 points off the bench for Duquesne.
Y2K
Grant became the 13th active player at the NCAA Division I level to eclipse 2,000 career points, as his three-pointer with 13:20 to play helped him reach the threshold. Entering the game 20 points shy of the mark, Grant led all scorers Saturday with 31 points. He shot 9-for-18 from the floor, including 7-for-14 from deep, while going 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Grant also added three rebounds and five assists and pushed his NCAA Division I career total in points to 2,011, including 840 in two seasons with the Dukes.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Duquesne finished with a season-high six dunks in its win over Rhode Island, with four different Dukes providing a flush. In the first half forward
Halil Barre recorded a pair off feeds from Grant and Rozier, respectively, while in the second half Clark III tickled the rim, Dixon provided a pair of jams and Drame capped it with his dunk at 5:30. Dixon pushed his total in dunks during the 2023-24 season to a team-high 21 while also matching a career best for the third time this season in blocks with five.
UP NEXT
The Dukes welcome Davidson to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Wednesday, Feb. 7, for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
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