Duquesne Drops Atlantic-10 Opener to UMass on the Road

Duquesne basketball opened up Atlantic-10 play against UMass on the road Wednesday night, where they struggled to get anything going offensively, losing 80-61.

The Dukes (9-4 overall, 0-1 A-10) make it back-to-back seasons with a loss to open conference play, as they fell to the Dayton Flyers on the road last season. This is also their second consecutive loss to a Division I team, as they fell to the Santa Clara Broncos in Las Vegas on Dec. 23, and their second straight loss to the Minutemen (10-3 overall, 1-0 A-10) in Amherst, Mass, doing so last season.

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Duquesne started out the game with an 8-2 run, thanks to senior guard Dae Dae Grant making back-to-back 3-pointers and fellow senior guard Jimmy Clark III scoring a layup.

UMass then went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, with seven points coming from the free throw line. Senior forward Matt Cross made two foul shots and scored a layup to lead UMass on the run.

Despite falling behind, Duquesne would cut the lead to two points at 26-24 and 28-26 with six minutes remaining in the half. UMass responded with an 8-2 run to build a 36-28 lead, with sophomore center and South Carolina transfer Daniel Hankins-Sanford making two baskets in the paint.

The Minutemen would hold on for the 40-32 advantage over the Dukes heading into halftime. Most of their points came from the foul line, shooting 16-for-20 there, 80%, compared to the Dukes 5-for-8 foul shooting, 62.5%. The Minutemen also outshot the Dukes, 48.0% to 32.5%, outscored them 14-7 in bench points and 18-12 in points in the paint.

Grant and Clark were the only two players who had anything going in the first half. Grant led with 13 points on three 3-pointers, but shot 4-for-11 overall, while Clark scored seven points, but shot 3-for-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from behind the arc.

Duquesne battled back to begin the second half cutting the lead to two points, 46-44, in the first four and half minutes. Clark scored five points on a layup and a 3-pointer, while Grant made three free throws.

The Minutemen scored seven straight points to build back their lead, but the Dukes kept it within five points with 11 minutes remaining.

Duquesne then failed to score over the next six minutes, while UMass went on a 16-0 run to build a 73-52 lead and solidified their victory. Cross scored seven points on two layups and an and-one opportunity, while first-year guard Jaylen Curry scored six points on a 3-pointer, a layup and a free throw.

The Dukes shot a season worst 36.2% from the field, making just 21 of their 58 attempts in their loss to the Minutemen. They also shot 13-for-22, 59.1%, from the free throw line and 6-for-22, 27.3%, from deep, the second and third worst percentages of the season, respectively.

Grant led Duquesne with 18 points but shot 5-for-16 from the field and 3-for-10 from 3-point range. A great shooter from the foul line, he even missed a free throw, his first miss since Marshall on Dec. 6. Clark scored 16 points but shot 6-for-15 and 1-for-6 from 3-point range in the loss to UMass.

Dukes graduate student forward Foussenyi Drame struggled in the loss, shooting 0-for-6 from the field and 3-for-8 from the foul line in 32 minutes played. Sophomore forward David Dixon had zero points on zero shots and had four personal fouls in just 10 minutes played, while fellow sophomore in guard Kareem Rozier also had little impact on the game, with just five points and zero assists.

The only bench player for the Dukes to have any impact was sophomore forward Halil Barre, who scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds, all coming in the second half.

UMass shot 52.9% from the field in the win, including 15-for-26, 57.7%, from the field in the second half, compared to Duquesne shooting 10-for-24, 41.7%, from the field, and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. UMass also made 24 free throws, taking advantage of their trips to foul line.

Junior guard Rahsool Diggins led the Minutemen with 16 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 from the foul line. Cross and Curry also scored 15 points each, with Cross making five of his eight shots from the floor and going 5-for-5 on free throws, while Curry shot 4-for-6 from the field, 2-for-4 from deep and 5-for-6 from the foul line.

The best thing Duquesne did in the loss was hold UMass graduate student forward Josh Cohen to just two points on 1-for-6 shooting from the floor, as he ended up fouling out of the game with just 15 minutes played. Cohen came into the match as the second leading scorer in the conference with 18.0 points per game and the third best shooting percentage, 61.8%.

Duquesne will stay on the road as they travel to Loyola (Chicago) on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. EST tip-off, searching for their first conference win.