Duquesne Handles Marshall, 85-72, for First Road Victory

Duquesne faced their second road test of the season with Marshall in Huntington, W.Va. Wednesday night and came out with the 85-72 win.

The Dukes (6-2) win their first road matchup of the 2023-24 season, as they lost their initial game to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Nov. 22. The win also gives the Dukes their first win over the Thundering Herd since a 93-82 victory in December 2018 at home, as they lost the previous three matchups, including home–and-away the previous two seasons.

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Duquesne struggled shooting in the first 10 minutes, going more than six minutes without a field goal and allowing Marshall to build a 12-7 lead. Senior guard Jimmy Clark III would lead Duquesne on a 18-2 run over four minute with back-to-back 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws to earn 25-14 lead.

The Thundering Herd would outscore the Dukes 18-14 over the final seven minutes of the first half, but the Dukes took a 39-32 lead into the half.

Clark would score seven of the 14 points for the Dukes on two 3-pointers and a free throw, to finish the first half with 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, 4-for-5 from behind the arc and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

While the first half saw Duquesne make shots from all over the court, they didn’t have the same success in the second half, making nine of their 23 field goal attempts, 39.1%, and three of their eight shots from 3-point range.

Most of their points came from the foul line, as they shot 25-for-34, 73.5%. Senior guard Dae Dae Grant led the Dukes with 14 points in the second half, making a season-high nine of his 10 free throws, while shooting 2-for-5 from the floor. Sophomore forward David Dixon didn’t make a shot in play during the second half but did shoot 8-for-12 from the free throw line.

The closest the Thundering Herd came to the Dukes was within five points at 41-36 with 19 minutes remaining. The Dukes managed to use those free throws to build a bigger lead, till they eventually won the game by 13, 85-72.

Duquesne played great defense throughout, holding Marshall to 26-of-70 shooting from the field, 37.1%, and 4-for-25 from 3-point rage, a season best 3-point field goal percentage defensive performance.

Clark led the Dukes with 24 points, a season-high for him. He also had season-highs with four 3-pointers, six free throws and 37 minutes played.

Graduate student forward Andrei Sarasov led with a season-high nine rebounds, while also providing 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free throw line.

Sophomore forward Halil Barre did go off injured with five minutes left in the game needing help from medical staff to get to the bench to receive treatment.

Duquesne will return home to UPMC Cooper Field House Friday, to take on St. Peter’s at 7 p.m.