Dukes greet a new era
Small crowd delights as Duquesne christens Cooper Fieldhouse with a win
Duquesne celebrated Tuesday night’s grand opening of the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse with a 69-64 win against Dayton.
Before the game, Duquesne athletic director Dave Harper said that he wanted to see the Dukes to end up with one more point on the scoreboard. He got the win, but the game ended up closer than it appeared.
Duquense jumped out to an early lead. They pushed it to 25 and the final margin of five points doesn’t fully indicate how the Dukes played against a team that is typically one of the best in the Atlantic 10.
Freshman forward Chad Baker etched his name in the history books — or digital record — with tghe first points in the renovated facility. Baker’s 3-pointer came on the Dukes’ first possession. He finished the night with 8 points on 3 of 6 shooting and made 2 of 5 3point attempts.
Jordy Tshimanga scored the
first bucket for an opposing player after the Dukes took an 11-1 lead. Tshimanga’s bucket took the tally to 11-3 in favor of the Dukes.
One of the many Flyers’ issues was Tshimanga being called for two quick fouls in the first half. Dayton typically counts on its 6-foot-11 center to protect the rim and rebound. He missed significant stretches where the Dukes built up a 39-24 lead. Duquesne only allowed six second-chance points.
Tuesday was a dramatic improvement for the Dukes (7-6, 6-5 A-10) since their 72-63 defeat at Dayton (10-5, 6-4) Jan. 13. Duquesne won four of their last five games. Tuesday’s win takes the Dukes’ over .500 for the first time since defeating George Washington on Jan. 2.
Marcus Weathers got the first dunk in the building named after Duquense alumnus Chuck Cooper. He was the first Black player drafted by an NBA team and is enshrined in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The dunk gave the Dukes a 15-3 lead. Weathers scored 20 points on 6 of 10 from the field. He also hit 7 of 10 free throws.
Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher scored two of his game-leading 28 points on a scintillating drive to the rim after the Weathers jam. Crutcher proved why ESPN ranked him the sixth-best player in college basketball with his play Tuesday. Crutcher shot 10 of 16 from the field; his teammates were 14 of 46. Crutcher’s first threepointer broke an 0 for 12 streak for the Flyers to make the score 34-17 with 2:58 in the first half.
Crutcher swished another 3-pointer at the buzzer of the first half.
Discipline problems were a bit of a concern for Duquesne. Michael Hughes got a technical foul at 3:26 left in the game. Crutcher scored six consecutive points after that technical to bring the Flyers within 10 points. Hughes scored 13 points, to his credit.
The game was mostly out of hand because the Flyers shot 8 of 25 from the 3-point line. But, the Dukes made the game harder with untimely fouls. The last was from Baker, who made a nice block with less than 20 seconds on the clock. The Dukes also need to work on their long-range shooting. The Dukes shot 5 of 21 from the 3-point line.
Baker was charged with a technical. Crutcher scored his final two points on the ensuing free throws. Koby Brea scored the last bucket of the game making the final score 69-64.
Tuesday was the first time Duquesne played a game with fans in their home arena this season. The Dukes played their first game on campus since March 9, 2019. A group of 50 students won a lottery to attend. Each was given two tickets for friends and family. The small crowd got loud and there was a difference in energy.
Duquesne will battle VCU on Sunday at home.