GAME 33
2024 Atlantic 10 Championship - Quarterfinals
#6 Duquesne (21-11) vs. #3 Dayton (24-6)
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn, N.Y. | Barclays Center (19,000)
 
TV: USA Network with Paul Burmeister, Tim McCormick & Caroline Pineda
Radio: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Tim Benz
 
Game Notes | Record Book | Media Center | TV/Radio Spotter Chart | Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team continues play in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship Thursday, March 14, with a 7:30 p.m. tip in the quarterfinals against No. 3 seed Dayton in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Barclays Center. The Flyers enter the game ranked No. 24 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls.
 
- The Dukes stretched their winning streak to a season-high five games by opening the 2024 A-10 Championship with an 83-73 victory over No. 14 seed Saint Louis. Duquesne, winners of seven of eight and 12 of 15 since an 0-5 start in the Atlantic 10, was led by guard Jimmy Clark III in the win over the Billikens with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
 
- Guard Dae Dae Grant added 17 points and a season-high seven assists in the win over SLU, while off the bench forward David Dixon contributed 13 points and six boards.
 
- The Dukes established a season high in the win over Saint Louis with 22 assists and also committed their fewest turnovers of the year with just five. Duquesne improved to 3-0 this season when handing out at least 20 assists in a game.
 
- Clark III was named to the 2024 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team as well as the 2024 All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team in a vote of league head coaches, with senior guard Dae Dae Grant joining Clark III on the second team.
 
- Thanks to a 67-65 win over George Washington to conclude the 2023-24 regular season, Duquesne has notched back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1970-71 and 1971-72. In seven seasons as head coach, Keith Dambrot has guided the Dukes to three 20-win campaigns.
 
- Grant enters Saturday's game leading the Atlantic 10 in free-throw percentage (95.1%) while ranking fourth in the conference in scoring, while guard Jimmy Clark III paces the A-10 in steals with an average of 2.38 per contest. 
 
- When holding opponents to less than 70 points in seven years under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 72-17 (.809), including a 16-1 (.941) mark during the 2023-24 campaign.
 
- Duquesne (2009) is one of seven schools that has won three times to reach the championship game since divisional seeding was discontinued in 2006. In the history of the tournament, it has only happened a total of nine times: St. Bonaventure (1984), Xavier (2004 Champion), Xavier (2006 Champion), Saint Joseph's (2006), Saint Joseph's (2008), Duquesne (2009), Dayton (2011), VCU (2015 Champion) and Saint Louis (2019 Champion). All-time in the Atlantic 10 Championship the Dukes have posted a record of 22-42 (.344).
 
- The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the semifinals Saturday, March 16, and will face the winner of Game 10 of the championship, which features No. 2 seed Loyola Chicago and No. 7 St. Bonaventure. Tip time is 3:30 p.m. from the Barclays Center.
 
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 three 20-win seasons - in just seven years – rank third 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 525-304 (.633) 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.
 
Did You Know? The Dukes are 10-0 this season when first to reach 70 points against an opponent and have won 29 consecutive games when turning the trick. In seven seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne is 73-7 (.913) when hitting the 70-point plateau first.                   
 
Win The Dae - Senior guard Dae Dae Grant eclipsed 400 career assists thanks to a season-high seven in an 83-73 victory over Saint Louis in the second round of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship at the Barclays Center. Grant enters Thursday's game against the Flyers with career totals of 2,167 points, 326 three-pointers and 401 assists over the last five seasons. He is one of just four active student-athletes in NCAA Division I to own career totals of at least 2,000 points, 400 assists and 300 three-pointers, joining Max Abmas (Texas), Joseph Girard III (Clemson) and Baylor Scheierman (Creighton). Grant takes the court against Dayton just four points shy of 1,000 career points in two seasons on the Bluff. He would be the 40th player in program history to reach the mark.  
 
The Beer Bar – Fans that can't attend Thursday's game against the Flyers in person can still catch all the action from Mike's Beer Bar on the North Shore. A watch party will take place for fans of the Dukes in the 7:30 p.m. tip against Saint Louis. Located across from PNC Park, Mike's Beer Bar is a premier craft beer destination in Pittsburgh, with 80 rotating taps and over 500 beers. Meet you at Mike's!
 
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and information on Duquesne men's basketball, follow the Dukes on Twitter (X) and Instagram.

Tweet #GoDukes