Duquesne Basketball
Duquesne Beats Delaware 80-66 for Dru Joyce III’s First Home Win
PITTSBURGH — With only four seconds remaining on the shot clock late in the game, Duquesne was looking to put away Delaware.
The Dukes battled through a seven-point deficit against the Blue Hens early on, and in the second half, had taken control of the game with stout defense and timely scoring. Now, the Dukes had the ball under their own basket with a chance to hit a dagger and put the game out of reach.
Then, Rozier found a wide-open Tre Dinkins for a corner three. Dinkins drained the shot, becoming the fourth Duquesne player to score at least ten points in the game, and giving the team a 12-point lead. The lead was too much to overcome for the Blue Hens, who turned up the pressure after the shot, but could not get any closer than six points away from the Dukes. Dinkins hit two more threes down the stretch, closing out Dru Joyce III’s first home win as head coach.
The Blue Hens took an early lead to start the game, hitting four of their first six three-point attempts. The Dukes, on the other hand, struggled from deep. Cam Crawford and Jakub Necas were the lone players to make threes for the team in the first half, as Joyce’s squad went just 2 for 13 from three-point range.
However, the team kept fighting. In the final ten minutes of the first half, the Dukes’ defense tightened up, and the offense continued to scrap for points.
Near the end of the frame, Kareem Rozier, backpedaling as Delaware’s 6-foot-8 forward John Camden drove to the basket, sneakily stripped the ball from the Camden, earning a cheer from the Duquesne fans in attendance. Rozier then grabbed the ball and found Maximus Edwards down the court for a layup, cutting Delaware’s lead down to two, 36-34. At the break, the score was 37-36, after Rozier hit two more free throws for the Dukes with less than one second to play.
To open the second half, Delaware’s Izaiah Pasha converted a layup. However, the Dukes answered on each of their next two possessions. First came a Dinkins three. Next, a layup from Rozier. The Dukes took the lead on that Rozier lay-in, and traded buckets with the Blue Hens for the next few minutes. Chabi Barre made a tremendous impact on the interior, setting screens, rolling to the basket, and finishing inside. He had two alley-oop finishes, exciting the Dukes’ crowd and boosting the team’s confidence as the game went on.
With around 12 minutes to play, Rozier found Edwards on the right wing for a wide-open three pointer. Edwards drained it, giving the Dukes a five-point advantage.
Duquesne built its lead up to eight with a layup from Crawford, and minutes later, answered an and-one from Delaware with a Corbett layup. The Dukes won the contest behind Dinkins’ late shot-making and timely stops on the defensive end.
Duquesne’s Dinkins led the team in scoring in the win with 18 points. Barre, Rozier, Edwards, and Crawford all scored in double figures in the victory. Necas and Corbett also scored eight points apiece. Jake DiMichele did not play due to injury, and had a boot on his foot.
With the win, Duquesne improves to 2-7 on the season, with their only other win coming against Old Dominion. The Dukes will now take on Maine on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at home. That game will tip off at 7 p.m. from the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
