Inside the Dukes: Promising Start Rolls On

For the second consecutive year, the Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball team is out to a 7-2 record.

Last year, the strong start was met with a 20-win conclusion. This time around, there is a lot of promise, and rightfully so, after beating Saint Peter’s, which marks three-straight victories for the Dukes that includes a valuable win on the road at Marshall.

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Two games in three days after returning home from Marshall in the wee hours of Thursday morning proved to be challenge, but it was met with a well-rounded effort by the Dukes for a nine-point win over the Peacocks at home.

“It was like mud wrestling,” Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot said. “They’re physical, they’re good defensively, they’re strong. We just couldn’t put them out. We survived, and we knew we had to survive and advance. It didn’t have to be pretty.”

THE TWIN GAME

With Duquesne trailing during the early portion of the contest, the Dukes turned to none other than the former Peacocks in the Drame brothers as they faced their former team for the first time since the Saint Peter’s Cinderella run to the Elite Eight two seasons ago.

The twins seized the opportunity to make a difference against their old squad immediately as their play ignited a 12-0 run to give the Dukes an insurmountable lead.

It was evident the moment they stepped on the floor that they would be difference makers as Fousseyni chased down a loose ball, then found Hassan on the left wing as he took it to the rim and finished with his right hand.

That proved to be a turning point in the contest, and it was noticeable from the rest of the Duquesne team.

“The twin’s man, their spark came in and turned the game around, in my opinion,” Dae Dae Grant said. “That was a really key stretch down the floor to help key out this win.”

Fousseyni dropped 11 points and added seven rebounds while Hassan tacked on eight points in the win.

For the twins, they aren’t looking to do anything special. Rather, they are just trying to provide for the formula that has already been established at Duquesne.

“When it comes to this team, they already have a winning culture,” Fousseyni said. “We are there to complete them. Whatever they push us to do or whatever the team needs us to do, we just fit in the puzzle and do whatever it takes to win.”

Onto their third team in three years, the twins have fit in with ease as graduate seniors at Duquesne.

“I never felt as close to my teammates in the locker room and outside,” Fousseyni said. “For example, I have a brotherhood at Saint Peter’s that took over three years. This was just instant. It didn’t take a lot of time to bond.”

With the Twins adding those additional pieces, they look to continue to impact the Dukes just as they did against their old squad.

“Funny story is, I asked both Drame’s if they were tired and they said ‘no, you know why,” Dambrot said. “That’s a good thing. They want to play more and more and more. You can take it personally and say that’s a bad thing, but I like it. They played well and they deserve it because they put time in every single day.”

Coming off a night where Fousseyni had a game-high plus 18 and Hassan was plus eight on the floor, the twins will continue to battle for minutes off the bench, which may become harder to come by in the near future…

TILL DEPTH DO US PART

Eleven players stepped foot on the floor for Duquesne Friday night. Every player saw north of two minutes of game action except for freshman guard Kailon Nicholls.

In the coming weeks, the Dukes will add to that number as they expect forwards Tre Williams and Dusan Mahorcic to return from injury.

When addressing the media, Dambrot noted that Mahorcic, a transfer from N.C. State, should be back in time for its matchup at the end of December against Cleary after dealing with a knee injury. He has started non-contact practicing.

Once those two forwards are reinserted in the lineup, the Dukes will be met with a healthy number of options off the bench, which could pay dividends during league play.

“We have probably the best 10 through 13 in the league,” Dambrot said. “We might not have the best five, but it puts a lot of pressure on the coach. It’s hard. The only way I know how to do it is play who’s playing the best.”

There is a downside to having that many players at your disposal as Dambrot pointed out. Certainly, there will be players vying for minutes that may never see them, especially with some of the recent performances from role guys.

“Those young kids are getting better,” Dambrot said. “They are protecting the rim pretty good, they are icing ball screens pretty well.”

When looking specifically at the power forward position, Dambrot will be in a crunch as Fousseyni and Andrei Savrasov have put together respectable performances as of late. Savrasov registered six points and four rebounds in the victory over the Peacocks.

The issue will come once Williams returns to the lineup.

“We got a pretty good deal with Andrei and Fousseyni splitting that four spot, so it’s tough,” Dambrot said.

Personnel decisions will become increasingly more difficult when Williams and Mahorcic return, but it will provide Dambrot with an ample amount of rotation possibilities.

SHOOTING SURPRISE

On any given night, any team can catch fire from beyond the arc. However, it was certainly unexpected when one of the worst shooting teams in the country started hitting a number of shots from 3-point land, and, with it coming on a poor shooting night from the Dukes.

Entering Friday, Saint Peter’s hit just 28.5 percent of its shots from outside the arc, spotting them at 294^th in the country. The Peacocks drained five triples in the first half.

“They had some ill-advised shots that we weren’t expecting,” Grant said. “We had to regroup in the second half and recognize that those guys could shoot. We dove into our scouting report coming into the second half and guard that three-line better.”

The Peacocks hit three treys in the second half as they finished with eight total makes on their way to their best 3-point outing of the season, hitting 40 percent from that range.

Brent Bland, Armoni Zeigler and their center, Mouhamed Sow, all connected on two shots from deep, respectively.

“We caught them on a nice night for them,” Dambrot said. “Relatively speaking, their five-man made two threes. When that happens, you’re in a little bit of trouble.”

It didn’t help that the Dukes culminated their worst shooting night of the season. Duquesne’s 39.2 percent from the field and 24 percent from three were season-lows.

In a closely contested game, Duquesne was reliant on free throw shooting. The Dukes were 22 for 28 from the stripe with Grant nailing all 10 of his opportunities.

Grant continued his ability to be proficient at the chalk after setting a program record for consecutive made free throws with 43 in the win at Marshall.

“I’m very appreciative of breaking that record,” Grant said. “I can’t do that without my teammates and my dedication to this game. I’m just trying to keep it going to help the team.”

After missing his last free throw against Marshall, Grant was back to business against the Peacocks as he his makes from the line were crucial in a tight contest.

“I take it a bit personal as a strategy because it’s pretty easy points for most guys who get to the free throw line and work on them,” he said. “I try to make the game as simple as possible and just get to the basket at the right times when we’re in the bonus and double bonus.”