Brooklyn, N.Y. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team closed the game on a 17-5 run to advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2009 Thursday with a 65-57 win over No. 24 Dayton at the Barclays Center. In completing a sweep in which each of the four games in the quarterfinals went to the lower seed, the Dukes improved to 22-11 (.667) overall during the 2023-24 campaign and will face No. 7 seed St. Bonaventure in the semifinals.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
DaRon Holmes II gave the Flyers a 52-48 lead with 7:15 to go after knocking down a pair of free throws, but Duquesne used a 10-0 burst to jump in front, 58-48. Sophomore forward
David Dixon got the rally started with a dunk off an offensive rebound, and freshman guard
Jake DiMichele put the Dukes on top for good, 53-52, with a triple from the top of the key with 5:06 remaining. Senior guard
Dae Dae Grant added a pair of free throws 37 seconds later, and his triple just inside of four minutes to go gave Duquesne some breathing room. Holmes would stem the tide with a hook shot in the paint and was also fouled in the process. He completed the three-point play to close Dayton (24-7) to within 58-55, but DiMichele answered on the other end with a driving layup to help keep the Flyers at bay.
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"Unbelievable admiration for the Dayton program and their coaching staff," head coach
Keith Dambrot. "Just great people and a great team. Fortunate to beat them. We took their punches and punched back, which I think these guys have really learned how to do over the course of the year. We've been in a lot of games now where we're making more winning plays when it matters."
HE GOT GAME
Holmes, who registered a double-double with game-high totals in points (24) and rebounds (13), converted on a feed from Javon Benett with 2:08 left to help the Flyers close to within 60-57 and, after empty possessions from both teams, senior guard
Jimmy Clark III buried a three-pointer with 49 seconds to go to push the lead to 63-57 for Duquesne. Clark III sealed the triumph with a pair of free throws 18 seconds later to give the Dukes their first win over a ranked opponent since a 71-64 win at Saint Louis Feb. 27, 2014. The Dukes also picked up their first win against an A-10 ranked team at the Atlantic 10 Championship, improving to 1-4 (.200). Clark III finished with 16 points, three rebounds and four assists to bolster Duquesne.
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"It really came down to pride," Clark III said. "Talking to the guys without the coaches, the main focus was coming in with some pride and dignity and just stand our ground."
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
Dixon fouled out with 3:28 remaining that allowed Holmes to convert a three-point play, but the Dukes got a pair of big efforts from forwards
Tre Williams and
Jakub Necas. Williams blocked a Holmes shot with 2:11 to go but was hurt on the play, with Necas subbing in. A minute later Necas rejected a layup from Holmes and came up with the defensive rebound. Clark III capitalized, burying the triple with 49 seconds to go to help seal the win.
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"We're built more at the defensive end than at the offensive end," Dambrot said. "We've just been talking about being winners. That's all we've talked about in the last probably six or seven weeks is what it takes to win. They've really improved in that area and I think they kind of hit on it, Jimmy and Dae Dae. It goes deeper than just basketball. If you care about each other, you're going to play more the right way than if you don't care about each other."
JOIN THE CLUB
Lost in the shuffle of the win over a ranked opponent was Grant eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau in two seasons at Duquesne. His jumper at the 6:11 mark of the first half helped him become the 40th student-athlete in program history to join the 1,000-Point Club for the Dukes. He finished with 11 points and three rebounds in the victory over the Flyers, pushing his career total in scoring at Duquesne to 1,007 points. He moved into 39th place on the all-time scoring list for the Dukes, as former forward Chuck Cooper scored an even 1,000 points from 1946 to 1950. In five seasons at the NCAA Division I level, Grant has scored 2,178 points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Thanks to the win over the Flyers, Duquesne picked up its first victory over a ranked opponent on a neutral court one day shy of 55 years ago. In a consolation game of the 1969 NCAA Tournament in College Park, Md., the Dukes posted a 75-72 win over No. 8 St. John's March 15, 1969.
UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes semifinal action of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship Saturday, March 17, with a 3:30 p.m. tip against the Bonnies at the Barclays Center. The opening game of the semifinals features the ninth seed, Saint Joseph's, against the fifth seed, VCU. Tip time between the Hawks and Rams is 1:00 p.m. and both games can be seen live on CBS Sports Network.
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