Duquesne Basketball
Duquesne Takes Down VCU in A-10 Championship Game, Makes NCAA Tournament
NEW YORK — Duquesne used a great first half performance to take down VCU, 57-51, in the Atlantic-10 Championship Game Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Dukes (24-11) win their second ever A-10 title and make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977, the last time they won the A-10, ending a 47-year drought for both streaks. The win over the Rams (22-13) makes it three in a row the past two seasons, with a win back at home in February 2023 and a win on the road on March 5.
Duquesne opened up the game with a 11-2 run, thanks to senior guards Dae Dae Grant making two 3-pointers and Jimmy Clark III making one himself.
VCU had struggles shooting the ball, as they shot 2-for-11 from the field and 1-for-5 from behind the arc through the first eight minutes, but still did cut the lead back to 13-7 with 10:22 left.
The Dukes then used another 11-2 run over 2:30 to build a 24-9 lead. Sophomore guard Kareem Rozier made a fadeaway mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer, while Grant made a free throw and a 3-pointer himself to lead the Dukes on the run.
VCU outscored Duquesne 14-13 to end the first half, but Duquesne had a comfortable 14-point advantage, 36-22, at halftime.
Duquesne shot 12-for-28, but 7-for-14 from behind the arc, along with 5-for-6 from the foul line to have their halftime lead. They also had a 9-4 advantage on points off turnovers and 9-2 advantage on second chance points.
Shooting struggles came for the Dukes to begin the second half, just 1-for-7 from the field, along with two turnovers, but they still maintained a double-digit lead.
They continued their poor shooting, 1-for-13 overall in the first eight minutes, allowing the Rams to cut the lead down to six at 38-32, after a 3-pointer from senior guard Zeb Jackson.
Grant would make a steal and then get a layup, which ended a more than eight minute scoring drought for Duquesne, keeping them up eight at the midway point of the period.
The Rams continued to trim the deficit, and senior guard Joe Bamisile excelled for them, converting an and-one opportunity on a layup and then a long mid-range shot to make it 42-39.
Duquesne then responded with a 7-1 run, thanks to two free throws from Rozier, a dunk from sophomore forward David Dixon and first-year Jakub Necas hitting a huge 3-pointer to get the lead back up to eight points with 4:25 remaining.
Clark had the chance to make it a double-digit lead with a steal, but he just missed the dunk and Rams senior guard Max Shulga hit a step-back midrange jumper to cut it back to a six-point game.
Jackson then hit a 3-pointer and Bamisile made two free throws to get VCU within one point. Clark then drained a large part of the shot clock and found first-year guard Jake DiMichele in the paint for an easy layup to get Duquesne back up three points with 59.8 seconds left.
Shulga missed a turnaround and Grant went to the line. A surprising miss from Grant give the ball back to VCU, but Jackson missed a 3-pointer.
Clark then went to the line and made both free throws against the team he started college with. Bamisile missed a 3-pointer on the Rams next possession and graduate student forward Fousseyni Drame hit both of his free throws to make it 55-48.
VCU made it interesting as Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left. Shulga looked like he got a steal, but the refs called a foul on him, sending Necas to the line.
Necas missed and Jackson almost saw his long-range 3-pointer go in, but it just missed. Clark went back to the line and made both free throws, giving Duquesne the 57-51 win.
Duquesne will find their opponent in the NCAA Tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, during the Selection Show on CBS.
