GAME 30
Duquesne (18-11 | 8-8 A-10) at VCU (19-10 | 11-5 A-10)
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Richmond, Va. | Siegel Center (7,617)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Sean Robertson & John Feinstein
Radio: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Tad Maurey
 
Game Notes | Record Book | Media Center | TV/Radio Spotter Chart | Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team, winners of nine of its last 12 games after an 0-5 start in the Atlantic 10, concludes the road portion of its 2023-24 schedule Tuesday, March 5, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against VCU at the Siegel Center.
 
- The Dukes opened their March slate with a 59-51 victory at George Mason as senior guard Dae Dae Grant paced Duquesne with 13 points and three steals.
 
- Senior guard Jimmy Clark III added 12 points, four rebounds and four steals against the Patriots, while off the bench forward Fousseyni Drame scored 10 points and grabbed four boards.
 
- The Dukes shot 59.1 percent (13-for-22) in the second half at George Mason and 48.7 percent (19-of-39) overall despite its fewest attempts from the field (39) in seven years under head coach Keith Dambrot.
 
- Clark III enters Tuesday's game leading the Atlantic 10 in steals per game (2.34), while Grant paces the circuit in free throw percentage (95.5%).
 
- Guard Jimmy Clark III has scored 970 career points at the NCAA Division I level entering Tuesday's game at VCU, including 840 in two seasons with the Dukes, and also needs four steals to crack the top 10 in program history for thefts, as Andy Sisinni (1981-84) currently ranks 10th with 148.
 
- Clark III is looking to become the third member of the Dukes to eclipse 1,000 career points this season, joining Fousseyni Drame (at Saint Joseph's) and Tre Williams (at Fordham), who own career point totals of 1,106 and 1,003, respectively.
 
- When holding opponents to less than 70 points in seven years under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 70-17 (.805), including a 14-1 (.933) mark during the 2023-24 campaign.
 
- Duquesne closes out its 2023-24 regular season Saturday, March 9, against George Washington at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in a 2:00 p.m. tip for the Chuck Cooper Classic. Get two tickets for $25 using the promo code CCC2024 as the Dukes will host the Revolutionaries for Senior Day.
 
Scouting the Rams – Tuesday marks the 11th meeting between Duquene and VCU, with the Rams owning an 8-2 (.800) edge in the all-time series. The Dukes posted their first win over VCU, 80-77 in overtime, in Richmond, Va., March 3, 2020. The Dukes have won two of the last three meetings between the two programs after a 79-70 win last year at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. In the victory, guard Jimmy Clark III, who spent his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Rams before playing the 2021-22 season at Northwest Florida Junior College, scored a game-high 26 points. He shot 10-of-17 from the field and added five steals in nearly single-handedly snapping VCU's five-game win streak. In last year's win, Duquesne held VCU scoreless for over six minutes in jumping out to a 20-6 lead. Guard Dae Dae Grant, who scored 13 points in the win, canned a trio of three-pointers in the first 6:02 for the Dukes. A triple from Tevin Brewer extended the lead to 25-8 as VCU opened the game 4-for-16 from the field with six turnovers. A Clark III three-pointer gave the Dukes a 20-point lead, 28-8.
 
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 two 20-win seasons - in just six years - are tied for the third-most 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 522-304 (.632) 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.
 
George Mason Leftovers – Duquesne won its fifth straight over the Patriots to extend its lead in the all-time series against George Mason to 10-6 (.625) ... The Dukes fell behind, 14-2, in the first 8:34 of action, with the 12-point deficit their largest erased during the 2023-24 season ... Duquesne owned a 29-28 edge in rebounds ... Darius Maddox scored a game-high 22 points for the Patriots, while Amari Kelly of GMU grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds ... The Dukes outscored the Patriots, 22-20, in the paint and also owned a 24-2 advantage in bench points ... George Mason finished just 4-of-20 (20%) from beyond the arc, the fourth time in the last five games and ninth time an Atlantic 10 foe has failed to shoot at least 30 percent from deep ... Duquesne is 10-2 (.833) this year when holding foes under 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc ... Both teams finished with 18 turnovers, with George Mason owning a 19-18 edge in points off miscues.
 
The Engine – Saving some of his best basketball of the 2023-24 season for the stretch run has been senior guard Jimmy Clark III. Entering Duquesne's final road game of the year Tuesday at VCU, Clark has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games. During that stretch he has stuffed the stat sheet, producing averages of 15.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.7 steals per contest while shooting 49.4 percent (39-for-79) from the field, including 43.2 percent (16-for-37) from deep. Clark III matched a season high with eight assists in a 75-63 win over La Salle as Duquesne improved to a perfect 8-0 the last two years when he records at least seven dimes in a game. Three days later in a 59-51 win at George Mason, Clark III scored 12 points and registered four steals. In the last two seasons the Dukes are 10-5 (.667) when Clark III finishes with at least four thefts in a game, including 5-2 (.714) in 2023-24. In addition to leading the Atlantic 10 in steals (2.34 per game), Clark III sits seventh in the circuit in assists with an average of 3.79 per contest. Grant Huffman (Davidson) and Khalil Brantley (La Salle) are the only other two players in the A-10 to rank in the top 10 in both assists and steals like Clark III.
 
Defensively Speaking – Thanks to a 59-51 win at George Mason, Duquesne improved to 33-1 (.971) in seven seasons under head coach Keith Dambrot when holding an opponent under 60 points, including 25 consecutive wins dating back to 2019. The only loss for the Dukes under Dambrot when holding an opponent to less than 60 points came against St. Bonaventure, a 51-49 setback at the A.J. Palumbo Center Feb. 6, 2019. 
 
Army Reserve – Forward Fousseyni Drame supplied 10 points off the bench in a 59-51 victory at George Mason on the strength of a 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line, marking the 10th time in the last 11 games that the Dukes have received a double-figure scoring effort from their reserves. During that stretch Duquesne has received a total of 14 double-figure scoring games from six different student-athletes, including six from Drame. The Dukes rank sixth in the Atlantic 10 and 91st in NCAA Division I in bench production at 35.4 percent according to KenPom.com. 
 
Steal City – Duquesne matched a season high for the third time in the last four games with 12 steals in a 59-51 victory at George Mason, with senior guard Jimmy Clark III leading the way with four. The Dukes have recorded 12 steals in a game five times this season, with Duquesne a perfect 5-0 in those contests, and are 9-1 (.900) in 2023-24 when recording at least 10 thefts in a contest. As a team, the Dukes sit third in the Atlantic 10 in steals per game (7.62). Clark III, meanwhile, enters the final two games of the regular season ranked 11th this year in NCAA Division I in steals per game (2.34), while his career average of 1.88 per contest (179 in 95 games) ranks 17th among active NCAA Division I players. 
 
The Chuck Cooper Classic – The annual Chuck Cooper Classic will take place on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. when the Dukes take on George Washington for their final game at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse this season. Get two tickets for $25 using the promo code CCC2024. Both entrances will have drop off boxes for fans to donate traditional school supplies to help support the local Pittsburgh community. Stick around postgame for an autograph session with all of the Dukes and receive a free team poster. Join us for a fun weekend as we honor the legacy of Chuck Cooper, the first African American to be drafted in the NBA.      
 
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and information on Duquesne men's basketball, follow the Dukes on Twitter (X) and Instagram.
 
Tweet #GoDukes