Inside the Dukes: Historic Season Continues

OMAHA, Neb. — Just 20 seconds into the half, Duquesne Men’s Basketball graduate student forward Fousseyni Drame knew he needed to make a play for his team.

After BYU’s Ali Khalifa missed a turnaround shot, it seemed that the Cougars were poised to grab a rebound, but Drame had other ideas, forcing a tie up.

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As Drame converged on a secured the whistle, a skirmish between him and Noah Waterman saw players converge on the ball with a fight nearly breaking out. Dusan Mahorcic had to be restrained by most of the Duquesne bench.

When the play was broken up, Drame, who is observing Ramadan meaning he fasts from dawn until sunset, came out of the pile restrained by official Sean Hull, immediately gesturing to Duquesne’s well-traveled fan base. The group, which did not need much encouraging went ballistic and started the traditional Shoo-Shoo Rah-Rah chant.

Both Drame and Waterman each received technical fouls, but the damage was done and the impact it had was overwhelming.

“That got me,” sophomore forward David Dixon admitted. “Knowing that one of our players is laying his body on the line trying to get the loose ball and he’s playing his hardest. I’ve got to do the same thing for my brother.”

“When the game started, especially at the four spot, they were trying to show some type of bullying,” stated Mahorcic. “I don’t know what they were trying to do but we weren’t going for that. That play elevated us.”

“I mean he just shows unbelievable toughness every game he plays,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot offered. “He’s a hard-nosed guy that has been through this, which really helps our team.”

“You see your brother doing that on the floor, that makes you want to even go harder the next play and the rest of the game,” Dae Dae Grant said, looking towards his teammate.

Duquesne earned its first NCAA Tournament win since 1969, besting BYU 71-67 Thursday afternoon at the CHI Health Center Omaha.

The Dukes also secured a 25th win on the season, its most triumphs since 1954.

“In the regular season, Dae Dae and Jimmy (Clark III) dove for a ball and that changed the whole game,” Drame said of his play. “I understand that it only takes one action to change everything and get everybody going. Being in college for five years I understand moments like this because I’ve been in a position like that. That’s why I went on the floor and made sure I got out with the ball because that sends the message that no matter what punch you throw, we’ll receive it and punch harder.”

As Dixon pondered the history his team made, a brief look of satisfaction formed across his face before the understanding that tipoff against Illinois was fast approaching.

“We don’t really have that long to celebrate and think about it, so maybe an hour or two,” he pondered. “I’m happy to be a part of history. This Duquesne team is etched in history to win an NCAA Tournament game since 1969 and I’m extremely happy for that.”

NECAS STEPS UP

In the VCU regular season game, Jakub Necas began to get an extended look at the traditional five spots and it was certainly a difference in securing that win.

That result caused a ripple effect as Dambrot began trusting Necas to handle that spot and the latter began to accept his role and instantly it built confidence.

Necas averaged 9.3 minutes per game heading into the Atlantic 10 Championship and now in his last three games is up to 22 minutes, including a 30-minute effort Thursday.

“I just felt like when I’m playing 4, 5 with Fouss, I need to help my teammate,” he remarked. “I just felt like that I am like helping the position when Coach give me the opportunity. So I’m trying to give my best, basically. So that’s all. Just be tough.”

Necas’s role has only increased with Tre Williams’s injury and with Drame in foul trouble, he put together season highs in points and rebounds respectively with 12 and six respectively.

The Dukes go right back up 🔟#MarchMadness @DuqMBB pic.twitter.com/FlZ1sWnLQH

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2024

“Just seeing these guys come in every day, put that time in,” Clark said of Necas’s and others respective efforts. “Always told them that even when they weren’t getting what they wanted at the beginning of the season, or we all as a group wasn’t getting what we wanted, these guys stuck through it and did it every single day. Every single day, and it’s showing up today.”

Necas buried some crucial shots and at halftime he slowly came off the court, clearly in discomfort but was immediately greeted by teammates supporting him and appreciating the effort he was giving them.

“I felt like I had good momentum,” deduced Necas. “In the tournament, I’m just trying to keep going, just play basketball and enjoy every moment because nobody expected us to be here, so we’re going to show our best, and I want to just, you know, be best for myself and for my team. I’m trying to help as much as I can.”

THE BOOT IS 5-0

Ever since Dambrot took to Brooklyn for the Atlantic 10 Championship, he has had a couple of good luck charms in his wife Donna and daughter Alysse.

Specifically speaking on his wife and her battle with breast cancer, Dambrot got emotional.

“I’m just happy for my wife, she deserves something good,” he stated through a couple of tears. “You go through what she’s been through with the toughness she’s had and even coming to Pittsburgh in the first place when you’re comfortable in Akron, just supporting your husband the way she does, you can’t get any better than that. She deserves having that happiness. This makes her happy which makes me happy.”

This game also served as Dambrot’s first individual NCAA Tournament victory in four tries and even he tried to fathom the series of events that got his Dukes to this point.

"KEITH DAMBROT'S COACHING CAREER WILL CONTINUE" 🔥

(11) DUQUESNE PROVIDES THE MADNESS WITH AN UPSET OVER (6) BYU! #MarchMadness @DuqMBB pic.twitter.com/1toECOakWH

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2024

“Just under the circumstances of everything, it’s unreal really,” concluded Dambrot. “To be 0-5 and come all the way back and do the things we did just tells you a lot about those guys. I think that 0-5 start in the league has helped us become what we’ve become.”

HE SAID IT

“We’re a team that likes to guard. I take defense very personally; I want to prove to the world that nobody can score on me in the post and do what they want. This game there was an emphasis on the post players, and we were up for the challenge.” – Dixon