Dukes still sliding as season comes to an end
This year, though, the Dukes lacked low-post scoring, relying on perimeter shooting as well as the ability of junior guard Tarin Smith and graduate guard Rene Castro-Caneddy, who led the team with 17 points, to drive to the basket. Richmond’s matchup zone defense gave Duquesne fits and exposed its deficiencies, Dambrot said.
“The matchup zone is an issue, too, because you have to attack that thing inside,” Dambrot said. “If you can’t score inside, it becomes an issue, which gave us problems. So everything was on the perimeter. It had to be finesseful, which I really don’t like.”
A late 3-pointer and layup from freshman Williams breathed life into the Dukes, helping chip away at a 19point deficit, but a dunk by Spiders freshman guard Nathan Cayo put the game out of reach with 51 seconds to play.
In the first half, No. 10 seed Duquesne fell behind, 16-5, rallied, again fell behind, 33-21, cut the deficit to two points before No. 7 seed Richmond’s 6-0 run gave the Spiders a 41-33 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Duquesne went three minutes without a field goal and a 3-pointer by Richmond freshman guard Jacob Gilyard, who led the Spiders with 20 points, made it 50-40 with 15:28 to play. De’Monte Buckingham drove for a layup and was fouled, his free throw putting the Dukes in a 13-point hole.
A long 3-pointer by Richmond junior guard Julius Johnson plus a steal and two free throws by Gilyard made it 67-48 with a little more than nine minutes to play. Dukes sophomore guard Mike Lewis II, who tallied 14 points, later sunk a 3, his first field goal since the first half, at 6:08.
The Dukes shot 45 percent to the Spiders’ 57 percent, with the Spiders making 9 of 21 3-pointers. Richmond outrebounded Duquesne, 33-23.
“It was a bad day to have a bad day,” Lewis said.
Richmond will face No. 2 seed St. Bonaventure at 6 p.m. Friday.
For Castro-Caneddy, graduate centers Jordan Robinson and Chas Brown and forward Eric James, the loss marked their last game in Duquesne jerseys.
“I think we laid a foundation,” Castro-Caneddy said. “We had an improvement from three to seven wins, but I definitely think for the future, definitely going to be top in the league. … I’m just blessed to meet this coaching staff because they really helped me have a good senior year.”