By Chris Garvin

GAME 15
Dayton (12-2 | 2-0 A-10) vs. Duquesne (9-5 | 0-2 A-10)
Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)

Opening Tip

– The Duquesne University men’s basketball team opens the home portion of its Atlantic 10 schedule Friday, Jan. 12, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Dayton at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

– Friday’s game against the Flyers is sold out, and no tickets are available for purchase at the gate. It marks the first sell out at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, as attendance will eclipse the previous high of 3,333 fans in a 56-54 win over St. Bonaventure Feb. 11, 2023.

– The Dukes are 4-2 (.667) under Keith Dambrot in their first Atlantic 10 home game of the season, which includes a 70-62 win over the Flyers Dec. 30, 2017, in the first A-10 game coached by Dambrot at Duquesne.

– In their last outing, the Dukes dropped a 72-67 decision at Loyola Chicago to close out a two-game road trip to open conference action. Forward David Dixon led four players in double figures against the Ramblers with a career-high 19 points while also adding seven rebounds.

– Guards Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III each scored 13 points against the Ramblers, while guard Kareem Rozier added 11 points and five assists.

– Grant, the active career leader scoring in the A-10 with 1,942 points in five seasons at the NCAA Division I level, enters Friday’s game against the Flyers leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 18.6 points per game, while Clark III paces the circuit in steals thanks to an average of 2.29 per contest.

– A number of Dukes are approaching the 1,000-point plateau as Atlantic 10 play gets into full swing. Forward Fousseyni Drame is 12 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 points for his career, while fellow frontcourt teammates Andrei Savrasov and Tre Williams are 42 and 53 points, respectively, shy of the mark.

– When holding opponents to less than 70 points under head coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne has posted a record of 62-16 (.795), including a 6-0 mark during the 2023-24 season.

– Duquesne hosts Richmond Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7:00 p.m. after taking on Dayton.

Scouting the Flyers – Friday marks the 87th meeting in a series that dates to Jan. 5, 1953. Dayton leads the all-time series, 61-25 (.709), including a 39-11 (.780) advantage in Atlantic 10 games during the regular season. Dayton won the only meeting between the two programs last season with a 67-59 win over the Dukes at UD Arena in the Atlantic 10 opener for both programs. Jimmy Clark III paced Duquesne with 15 points while tying a career high with eight rebounds and recording three steals. In the first game at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Duquesne earned a 69-64 win over Dayton Feb. 3, 2021. In posting a wire-to-wire victory, the Dukes jumped out to a 15-3 advantage and were led by Marcus Weathers (2016-21), who scored 20 points. Forward Michael Hughes (2016-21) added a double-double in the victory thanks to 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

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 513-298 (.633) 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.

Loyola Chicago Leftovers – The Dukes slipped to 12-7 (.631) overall in the all-time series against the Ramblers … Duquesne shot just 30.3 percent (10-for-33) from the field in the second half, including 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from beyond the arc … Loyola Chicago, meanwhile, was 13-for-25 (52%) from the field in the second half and converted 50 percent (27-for-54) overall … The Ramblers held a 42-36 edge in points in the paint, just the fourth time (all losses) during the 2023-24 an opponent has owned an advantage in the category … The Dukes outrebounded Loyola Chicago, 38-35, including an 11-5 cushion in offensive boards … Thanks to the 11 offensive rebounds Duquesne held a 14-6 cushion in second chance points … Sophomore forward Halil Barre finished with three blocks against the Ramblers and owns 15 rejections (1.07 per game) this season … Seven different Dukes recorded a steal as Duquesne finished with nine thefts as a team.

Lift Off – The Dukes have been in search of a consistent inside presence in the first half of the 2023-24 season, and sophomore forward David Dixon has provided a spark in recent weeks. Dixon enters Friday’s game against Dayton having supplied a career-high 19 points off the bench to lead Duquesne at Loyola Chicago. He shot 8-for-14 from the field against the Ramblers, including his first career three-pointer, and was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, while also contributing seven rebounds, a pair of steals and a block. Dixon leads the Dukes in dunks this season with 16 and also ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 in blocks with an average of 1.71 per game. Over the last two seasons, Duquesne has posted a record of 6-3 (.667) in the nine games during Dixon’s career he has scored in double figures, including a 3-1 (.750) mark this year.

The Climb Continues – Senior Dae Dae Grant, who has hit at least one three-pointer in 22 consecutive games dating back to last season, has drained 134 triples in 47 career games at Duquesne, an average of 2.85 per contest. The most three-pointers for a member of the Dukes playing two seasons with the program is former guard Mike Lewis II, who connected for 164 from 2017-19. That total ranks seventh in the Duquesne career record book. Grant enters Friday’s game against Dayton with 299 career three-pointers at the NCAA Division I level and with his next triple will be the 14th active student-athlete with 300 to his credit. Grant finished with 165 three-pointers in three seasons at Miami, Ohio from 2019-22 prior to transferring to Duquesne. He owns a career 37.6 shooting percentage (134-for-356) from deep with the Dukes.

At The Point – Sophomore guard Kareem Rozier has been a steady presence as the starting point guard for the Dukes in the first half of the 2023-24 season. Joining guards Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III as the only student-athletes for Duquesne to start all 14 games this year, Rozier ranks 10th in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percentage at 43.4 percent (23-for-53). He also has taken care of the ball, having handed out 12 assists against just three turnovers over his last six games. Rozier contributed 11 points and five assists at Loyola Chicago and overall this season has posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.79.

Chalk Talk – Senior guard Dae Dae Grant has proven to be adept at the free-throw line during his career, and those numbers have only been amplified in his two seasons at Duquesne. Having established a new program record for consecutive free throws (43) made this season, Grant converted his first five free throws in the Atlantic 10 opener for the Dukes at Massachusetts before missing his final opportunity of the contest, snapping a streak of 29 consecutive free throws. Since the season opener against Cleveland State, where he hit his final three free throws as part of an 8-for-11 performance, Grant has converted 75 of his last 77 chances (97.4%) at the line. Among A-10 leaders at the stripe, Grant ranks second in the conference at 94.1 percent (80-for-85), a success rate that also ranks eighth in NCAA Division I. Grant is also tied for 22nd in NCAA Division I in free throws, as he averages 6.07 trips to the stripe per game.

Did You Know? Friday’s game against Dayton will be broadcast nationally live on ESPN2, with Mike Corey and Dalen Cuff on the call. Cuff’s father, Dennis, was a key contributor for Duquesne from 1961 to 1964. Dennis Cuff posted one of the top season-to-season scoring increases in program history, jumping from 3.2 points per game as a sophomore in 1961-62 to averaging 14.8 points a contest during the 1962-63 campaign. He also led the Dukes in rebounding with per game averages of 9.8 and 11.6, respectively, in 1962-63 and 1963-64. Dennis Cuff averaged 10.0 points in 66 career games with the Dukes and was a contributor for Duquesne squads that appeared in the 1962 and 1964 NIT.

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COURTESY DUQUESNE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS