Dukes survive slugfest to win
Scuffles, technicals and 44 fouls mark rough-and-tumble victory
The UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse might as well have been hosting a boxing match with how Duquesne and Fordham battled on Saturday afternoon.
There was a literal scuffle when Fordham’s Kyle Rose seemingly kicked Jake DiMichele and Tre Williams got involved. Rose was awarded a technical and Williams a common foul. Even Fordham coach Keith Urgo got in on the action, receiving a technical foul after a verbal dispute with the officials.
It was a physical game with bodies hitting the floor on most possessions and a total of 44 fouls called. But the more exciting fight came on the scoreboard, with the Dukes coming out on top 68-59.
“We finally figured out our formula to win,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said. “It’s going to be mud wrestling. That’s our formula to win. None of them are going to look very good. But if you play good defense every night, you have a chance.”
Duquesne, down three points, utilized a 12-2 run to take a 7-point lead with less than five minutes to go. The Rams got it back within 4 points, but about a minute later Fousseyni Drame made the first 3-pointer to extend the lead to nine points.
The Dukes got up by as many as 12 points and held the lead to secure their second-consecutive win.
The Rams kicked off the game on a 6-0 run, while its defense forced Duquesne to have three early turnovers. It wasn’t until Dae Dae Grant and David Dixon came onto the court that the Dukes started to have some momentum.
In Dixon’s first 1:05 in the game, he stole the ball, fed the ball to Jake DiMichele for Duquesne’s first points of the game and scored a layup. Add in Grant’s two free throws and the score was tied. The score would stay close the rest of the half with the Rams coming out on top, 28-27, by halftime.
“I come off the bench to provide a spark for the team,” Dixon said. “I take pride in that role and I wanted to be that guy that if something’s going wrong, I come in and change the whole game. I’ve had plenty of games like that. I take pride in that.”
Fordham went on an 11-0 run with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The Rams were 3 for 3 with Romad Dean making two of those shots. Elijah Gray hit a 3-pointer and Antrell Charlton made two free throws to make the game 47-44.
Jake DiMichele’s 3-point play kicked off the scoring run in response to the Rams’ taking the lead. He scored five points in the 12-2 run, giving him a new career-high of 15 points on 6for-10 shooting.
“He’s one of our best players,” Dambrot said. “He’s not scared. Doesn’t matter if he makes shots. If he doesn’t make shots, he drives it. He just doesn’t look like he’s an NBA guy or high level player. He just goes out there and fools everybody.”
Rams forward Gray led all players with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
Dixon and Clark also scored in double figures with 12 apiece. Grant made his return to the court after missing three games due to a concussion. He added just seven points, but four rebounds and two assists.
“At the end of the game when he wasn’t out there, we kind of fell apart,” DiMichele said. “He’s just so composed. If he goes to the free throw line, that’s all automatic. At the end of the game, just having him out there as a presence, it’s just reassuring for all of us.”
Key stat
Duquesne had struggled to feed the ball to its bigs down low this season. However, the Dukes scored 46 points in the paint compared to Fordham’s 23. Five of the seven forwards scored, led by Dixon. Dusan Mahorcic, Matus Hronsky, Williams and Drame combined for 22 points.
“It was really the scout,” Dixon said. “Shout out to our coaches when they saw the scout they saw that they play a specific type of defense. It was a type of defense that we know that us bigs can flourish.”
Quotable
At the beginning of the season Dambrot expressed a concern about overextending starting guards Kareem Rozier, Grant and Clark. As the season has progressed, younger players such as DiMichele and Hronsky have earned more playing time.
It’s allowed Dambrot to play Rozier, Grant and Clark a bit less as well as take them off the court when they make mistakes.
“We’ve developed the bench enough that I don’t feel like I have to play any of the three that had been starting,” Dambrot said. “I can play who’s the best player at that time, which is actually good for them. The quick hook probably doesn’t seem good to them. But it actually is because their biggest issue is discipline. Both offensively and defensively and just trying to stay focused. When you come out of the game, it tends to help you focus.”
Up next
The Dukes take a break from Atlantic 10 play to host Chicago State in a nonconference matchup Wednesday. Duquesne then returns to league play Saturday at Rhode Island.