Inside the Dukes: Tourney Tune-Up

Coming up on the losing end of the first five Atlantic 10 conference games this season was an undesirable way for the Duquesne Dukes to start out of the gate. However, what would transpire over the next month and a half has created a lot of buzz around the program heading into the postseason tournament.

The Dukes corrected their disappointing start in league play to win 10 of their last 13 games, including a 67-65 nail-biter on Saturday against George Washington to conclude regular-season play.

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“It might not seem like a big accomplishment, but when you’re 0-5, 10-8’s pretty good. People say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have been 0-5,’ but maybe we should’ve,” head coach Keith Dambrot said following the regular-season finale. “Maybe we weren’t quite ready to win those games yet, but we were certainly good enough to win the last three games – two on the road and here – when we were tested when it mattered. Sometimes you have to lose to win.”

It was a postseason-style affair between the Dukes, who will enter tournament play as the sixth seed with first-round bye, and the last-place Revolutionaries. The two adversaries battled through 13 lead changes with the contest ultimately coming down to a pair of free throws with two seconds to go on the clock.

Jimmy Clark III calmly sank the shots from the charity stripe to lift Duquesne to back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time in over 50 years.

TOURNEY TUNE-UP

Entering the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Saturday, George Washington had just snapped a 12-game losing skid against St. Bonaventure. Finding its form once again, the Revs were trying to make a case as spoiler not only to close out the regular season, but what may come on Tuesday when they face No. 10 La Salle.

“They’ve had some issues with playing hard every night. I knew we were going to have our hands full because of what happened the last game against St. Bonaventure,” Dambrot said. “They decided they were going to guard, and they made shots. All of a sudden, they got some intravenous fed into their system, and so, we had a battle on our hands.”

Don’t mind what George Washington’s record says, but a game like this one can be useful in March when the stakes are much more higher.

“Everything hard is good for you,” Dambrot said. “Anything easy usually isn’t good for you. That goes all the way into life. Anything that you have to work for an earn is always good for you.”

Duquesne Dukes head coach Keith Dambrot March 9, 2024 David Hague/PSN

For the Dukes, who hasn’t advanced past the second round since 2021, it provided an opportunity for those on the court to experience what they may face starting on Wednesday.

“This was a good test for us going into the tournament because a lot of games are going to be close,” Clark III said. “Being able to fight it out and able to get the win with the group of guys that we got is definitely good for us.”

One moment in particular spoke volumes of the type of effort that need to be given once the tournament commences and that happened nearly midway through the second half on Saturday.

Trailing 45-44, Dae Dae Grant poked the ball free and dove for it near the timeline. He then moved it ahead to Fousseyni Drame. Although Drame missed, Grant returned to his feet, flew into the lane and finished the putback opportunity at the rim.

Dae in… Dae out. pic.twitter.com/Nv3bX7J0N1

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 9, 2024

Duquesne's 2024 March Madness Tournament coverage is sponsored by Leon's Billiards & More, Moon Golf Club and Archie's on Carson! Their contributions have allowed us to cover the Dukes run in Omaha, Nebraska. We appreciate their support!

“The one play that changed the whole game was Dae Dae’s dive for the ball. That really gave us the momentum to finish strong,” Clark III said.

JIMMY CLARK III REACHES CAREER MARK ON SENIOR DAY

Clark III was one of seven Dukes that were recognized ahead of Saturday’s matchup. The following 40 minutes saw the Covington, Georgia native put together one of his most complete performances of the season, which came in front of his family.

“Being from Georgia, that’s so far away from Pittsburgh, so they don’t get to come to the games often,” he said. “Having that energy of my family being in my presence, it made me want to go out and play a little extra harder.”

He did exactly that as he scored 22 points on 7 of 18 shooting and two timely triples, along with four steals.

To cap it off, he stepped up to the line to sink a pair of go-ahead free throws, the first of which gave him 1,000 career points.

NO HE DIDN'T🤯 #GoDukes|#SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/WSy2RVpHn3

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 9, 2024

“I knew how many points I needed, but I didn’t even look at the scoreboard to see how many points I had. I was locked in on making the free throw. God works in mysterious ways,” Clark III said.

Each one of Clark III’s 22 points were needed in the winning effort over the Revolutionaries and it came after a slower start for the senior.

“He was a little disjointed early, but he settled in,” Dambrot said. “Jimmy’s a competitor, man, he’s been through a lot, and he’s had to battle to get to this point.”

Duquesne Dukes guard Jimmy Clark III (1) March 9, 2024 David Hague/PSN

As the regular season came to an end, now the Dukes await not only their first opponent in the A-10 Tournament, but also, if what accolades Clark III may receive. The 6-foot-3 guard has cemented himself in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.

“What more can you say about Tre Clark. He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen. The steals that he gets sometimes just amaze,” teammate David Dixon said.

THEY SAID IT

“We started 0-5 and been battling our way back ever since. Everyone’s written us off already. We’re doing the things that we’re usually doing like working hard, playing hard, defending hard. We’re not really worried about if a team’s making shots because we know at the end of the day, we’re going to stick to our principles and stop them on defense and get the dub.” – Dixon on playing in tight games.