Inside the Dukes: Defensive Efforts Save Dambrot’s Homecoming Game

AKRON, OHIO — The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team came into halftime as an uneven flat team which had looked like it had 10 days off, so associate head coach Dru Joyce III determined it was time to cuss his team out in a way to refocus a team which allowed Bradley to shoot 50% from the field and 62.5% on three-point shots.

“The speech in the hallway was ‘let’s go it’s time to pick it up,'” sophomore guard Kareem Rozier recalled. ‘We got the dust off, so now let’s get after these boys.’ That’s what we did, I think we got up in their shorts and did a pretty good job of holding them.”

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A 4:32 scoreless streak from Bradley with Joyce vocally leading the way from the Duquesne bench swung the pendulum in securing a 69-67 victory Monday night at the LeBron James Arena.

“Underneath all of the scoring and big-time plays, it’s about getting big-time stops,” stated Joyce. “The more stops you get, the game becomes easier because basketball is a floor game. There are no subs when it comes to offense and defense. How you want to score defense can create the offense and that’s been our m.o. I thought we needed to get back to it.”

Though Jimmy Clark III, Andrei Savrasov and Dae Dae Grant were the top points earners in this game, it was efforts from those such as Jakub Necas and a returning Tre Williams on that defensive end that were just as crucial.

As was Rozier who stumbled out of the gates early on with two quick fouls which made it difficult to get into a rhythm, but his promise to be disruptive on the defensive end in the second half was delivered.

Multiple players and coaches mentioned how important those second-half huddles during stoppages and timeouts were. At one point, coach Keith Dambrot allowed his players to entirely control the huddle and let the team figure it out on its own, a clear sign of trust, even with the offense not as prolific as is in usual games.

Those huddles were where extra defensive rebounds, deflections, close outs, harder presses and attempting to gain extra shots were preached. In turn, the Dukes came together and locked in which led to the 4:32 scoreless streak.

“You could tell we were a little crusty and rusty, we didn’t quite have it, kind of ran in mud,” Dambrot opined. “(Bradley) beat some good teams this year, they’ve had trouble finishing games in the end. We hung around. We weren’t very good, but we were good enough. Jakub helped us defensively which was a key deal for us.”

This effort showed that even if players do not score or were unable to get into the game, that everyone was equally engaged and provided energy.

Throughout it all, as Duquesne lifted each other after David Dixon’s layup with 0.2 seconds won the game on the scoreboard, Joyce still thinks about that 4:32 stretch and how locking in and committing to defensive values proved pivotal.

“I just think we play with the right energy and stay disciplined,” Joyce explained. “There were some times throughout the game where we lost our discipline and had a bad understanding of the scout, which we should have had a better understanding of. The scout was correct, but we honed in. Those four minutes were really good moments of basketball on the defensive end and that may have been all that it took to win this game, that segment.”

PRIME DAY

David Dixon would be the first to tell you it was not his best game Monday as he had seven points but let some potential non-calls affect his play on the court, to the point that Dambrot stated he was tired.

Dambrot’s trust in Dixon proved pivotal as did the same belief from Jimmy Clark III.

Duquesne had two fouls to give and Clark had just been called for a turnover on a play where he caught a ball ruled out of bounds.

Dambrot had immediately asked for the play to be reviewed as Clark landed right in front of his and official Jeb Hartness reminded the Dukes bench boss that if he were to lose the challenge, a timeout would also disappear. Undeterred Dambrot asked for the challenge, so Ron Groover and A.J. Desai went to the monitor.

The camera angle was not overly definitive, and the original call stood.

This miscue gave Bradley a chance to win the game with just over 23 seconds remaining in regulation and Clark clapped his hands in an effort to refocus.

Clark was also an uncharacteristic 6-for-10 from the free throw line and in his mind it was imperative to change the game.

Duquesne used one of its two fouls to give and on the inbounds pass, Bradley’s Malevy Leons found an open Brave in the paint, but Clark raced towards the ball and got the steal.

“The instincts kicked in and I just had to make a play,” Clark remembered. “I had to. That’s a crucial turnover, my teammates kept me in it and told me next play. Credit to my teammates for sure.”

As the clock ticked down, Clark raced down the court and found Dixon who had an edge and a mismatch. The forward drove and successfully converted a layup much to the delight of those in attendance.

“As soon as I got it, I saw wide open, I said ‘let me just get a for-sure basket, get the two and win the game,'” illustrated Dixon. “It wasn’t my best game I’ll admit that, but I’m glad we got out with a win. During the game things weren’t working out, so I was a little nervous, but I stuck to my principles.”

Dambrot celebrates and waved his hands in the air stating, “it’s over”, but the review showed 0.2 seconds on the clock, so Duquesne spent its last timeout to hone back in on one last stop.

As chief of staff Andy Allison consistently reminded his team that it was out of timeouts, Dixon repeated the line back to him.

Bradley’s homerun pass went right to Dixon who caught the ball and tossed it in the air after the buzzer sounded, victory secure.

“I channeled my inner safety, I’m not going to lie to you,” Dixon smiled. “I thought I was Deion Sanders. The ball was going right to me and so I went up and caught it. Got the dub, I’m happy. Shoutout Prime.”

The victory means Duquesne is now 5-0 in its annual contest in Akron, a fact not lost on this team.

“I want to win for my coach,” explained Dixon. “I feel like if he comes back (home) he deserves to win there. I’m happy to be part of that dub. I respect him, he respects me, I love him, he loves me.  I know he has a lot of stuff on his mind, but I know he wants to win, and I am happy to ease his mind a little bit.”

MOVING FORWARD

Duquesne is only getting healthier and Williams’s first action since Nov. 10 proves. By all accounts Dusan Mahorcic is a game or two away from returning to the court.

Having both of these proven post presences could only make Duquesne a more dangerous unit as both gain minutes, reps and confidence.

As Dambrot attempts to figure out the logjam it is likely that the hot hand either in practice or the immediate feedback of in games will determine how the minutes are affected.

Monday it was Savrasov who got 28 minutes, amassing a season high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting. At one point during the game, Clark made sure to let him know that the team was in the game because of him.

Clark believes that having such a healthy and massive post presence will be great for the entire team and now everyone can be pushed that much more in practice.

As a post presence that will be affected by this, Dixon is looking forward to the challenge because he understands that it will make his team that much more dangerous.

“When we face those bigger players, we’ll have a lot more fight in us,” he concluded. “With Chabi (Barre) and I we’ve done our best, but there’s a lot we have to get better at. We’re trying hard but with the extra help, things will get better for us.”