Duquesne Dominates Montana In Season Opener, 91-63

In a rounded performance, the Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team got its season off to a positive start with a 91-63 victory over Montana Tuesday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Dae Dae Grant led all scorers with his 25 points on a perfect eight-for-eight clip, which included six three-point shots.

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Matus Hronsky scored 13 points off the bench, while Joe Reece also had a positive first contribution, consisting of his 12 points and five rebounds. Quincy McGriff swished in 10 points as well.

Duquesne (1-0) saw all 11 players who saw the floor, compete for a double-digit minute total. 10 of those Dukes scored, while another 10 grabbed at least one rebound.

The Dukes also enjoyed significant edges in rebounds (34-21), bench points (30-13), points off turnovers (20-10) and points in the paint (44-20).

Montana (0-1) saw Josh Bannan lead the way with his 19 points, 14 of which were scored in the second half. Teammate Dischon Thomas added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Duquesne got off to a fast start on the offensive side of the ball, firing at a 62.5% clip and moving the ball well.

Clark scored Duquesne’s first basket of the season on a layup and that score was followed by another where Joe Reece found an edge in the post and then saw Tre Williams cutting towards the basket, the result was a high-percentage, off-glass score.

Though Montana would briefly take the lead, the Dukes would reclaim their advantage when Quincy McGriff knocked down a three-point shot.

Grant then scored five points before the media timeout.

Coming out of that stoppage, Duquesne successfully switched into a press defense, which frustrated Montana into turnovers.

The first turnover saw Reece miss a shot, and clean up the second shot, then he was rewarded with a dunk, aided by Kareem Rozier.

In total, Duquesne enjoyed a 10-0 run as Montana used three timeouts in that first half.

Duquesne meanwhile saw 11 players see the court in the first half, with 10 scoring and another nine grabbing at least one rebound.

At halftime, Duquesne held a 45-19 advantage over its opponents, with the fans standing and applauding loudly in approval.

Duquesne greeted the second half with quick ball movement, with Reece once again finding Williams for a dunk and had another 12 points towards its cause four minutes into the final 20.

Grant continued his offense onslaught, which included him burying a three-point shot from NBA range as his team smiled in approval.

Even when Duquesne had a busted-up play, Matus Hronsky found a positive out of it, hitting another open three pointer.

Duquesne did have turnover issues with nine second-half turnovers, but the game was largely a formality.

The Dukes played this game without Tevin Brewer (recovering from complications following appendectomy), Andy Barba (illness), Jaylen Cole-Williams, Halil Barre and Jake Harper.

Duquesne’s next test is a big one as it travels to Lexington and faces #4 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.