Duquesne Beats Davidson for First Time in Program History

MOON, PA — Heading into Sunday afternoon’s nationally televised Atlantic 10 contest, the Duquesne men’s basketball team had never beaten Davidson, losing all seven contests.

As, Duquesne extended its home winning streak to seven wins in three different venues following a 71-64 victory over Davidson at the UPMC Events Center

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Four Duquesne (12-2, 2-0 Atlantic 10) players reached double-figure point totals led by sophomore guard Sincere Carry’s 16 points. Redshirt junior center Michael Hughes notched his fourth double-double of the season with his 14 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Maceo Austin added 14 points and redshirt junior Marcus Weathers contributed 13 points to go with nine rebounds.

Davidson (6-7, 0-1 Atlantic 10) was led by junior guard Carter Collins who scored a career-high 22 points. Junior guard Kellan Grady added 19 points. Last season’s Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Jon Axel Gudmundsson was held to four points on 2-of-14 shooting.

Early on, Duquesne appeared the fresher of the two teams despite playing Thursday while Davidson had not competed in six days.

Davidson’s offense struggled to materialize while Duquesne was able to sense the Wildcat double teams and either beat them or pass out and find the open shooter.

In the early going, the tempo favored Duquesne’s faster pace offense which fed off a stingy defense which allowed for an 18-5 run to open the game.

Duquesne’s early momentum was temporarily halted when a five-minute review to determine a foul was held with 12:13 remaining in the first half.

As part of a new rule instituted by the NCAA this year where a foul can be reviewed after the whistle was blown. Referee Mark Schnur stated that the review was made for that reason and Collins was viewed as being in Duquesne guard Ashton Miller’s cylinder and as a result the foul was called on Davidson’s Collins.

Though the foul benefited Duquesne, it appeared to it appeared to take the home team out of its rhythm as Duquesne’s pace slowed and baskets were not being strung together.

Collins was responsible for much of Davidson’s early scoring but the stoppage seemed to allow the Wildcats to establish a little bit more of a rhythm.

When Davidson cut its first-half deficit to 20-11, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot called a timeout. Duquesne appeared to not finish plays on the offensive end and did not consistently get back on defense. This happened in consecutive possessions allowing Davidson to score.

Duquesne was able to get back on track and a Tavian Dunn-Martin floater beat the first half buzzer allowed the Dukes to hold a 30-21 advantage.

Davidson was able to play with more cohesion  to begin the second half as it began chipping away at Duquesne’s lead.

When Grady drilled a three-point basket with 10:15 remaining in the second half, Davidson tied the contest at 43 and both teams were battling for control.

As the game drew closer to a conclusion, Lamar Norman Jr was able to grab a key rebound and pass to Baylee Steele who put away a dunk.

All game long, Norman had used lock-down defense to limit the Davidson offense, but with 3:22 remaining in regulation, he called his own number and buried a three-point shot.

When Davidson came up empty on its end, Carry went into transition and made a layup. Down six, Davidson opted to call a timeout.

From there, Duquesne led by Carry finished the game making free throws and earning defensive stops to secure the victory.

Duquesne will take to the road as it continued A-10 play as it faces Saint Joseph’s Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.

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