Duquesne MBB Falls Short In Road Loss

The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team had Saturday’s road contest at Dayton circled on the calendar after the Flyers led by as many as 30 points, emphatically ending the Dukes momentum and starting a five-game losing streak.

Duquesne made a run towards game’s end, but a foul with seven seconds remaining in regulation proved too much to overcome as the Dukes dropped a 77-76 game.

“We’re a tough team,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said to the team’s radio broadcast. “Certain losses aren’t a reflection of who we are and what we do on the daily. I know my guys and my team are always going to step up to the challenge and today we did. It was just an unfortunate ending.”

Duquesne (10-15/5-7 Atlantic 10) was paced by Tre Dinkins III’s game-high 21 points. Matus Hronsky set a career high with his 16 points, while Jahsean Corbett added 11 points off the bench.

The Dukes led by 12 points at one point in the first half. Duquesne was 14-for-22 from the free-throw line. Dayton had 24 made free throws.

Dayton (18-8/8-5 A-10) also had a trio of double-figure scorers, starting with Enoch Cheeks’s 19 points. Zed Key posted 18 points in a reserve role, with Malachi Smith rounding out the threesome with his 12 points.

The Flyers shot 51% from the field and turned 14 Dukes turnovers into 23 points. The also contributed 33 bench points, were a +14 in the paint and +13 in fastbreak points.

It was positive start for Duquesne as the visitors opened on a 7-2 run with Hronsky accounting for five of the points.

At no point in the first half did the Dukes trail.

Duquesne’s 12-point lead came on a 12-1 run as the Flyers were held without a field goal for 4:03. The effort featured two three-point field goals from Maximus Edwards.

Dayton would slowly cut into the lead, closing the half on a 7-2 mark, reducing the Dukes lead to 44-40 at halftime.

That 7-2 Flyers run was mirrored at the start of the second half, allowing for Dayton to take its first lead after a turnover transitioned to an Isaac Jack dunk.

Joyce would call a timeout to regroup.

In the midpoint of the second half, it was Duquesne’s turn as it scored eight out of 10 points, to take a five-point lead into the under-8 media timeout.

Dayton would respond as the teams battled for control down the stretch.

It appeared that the Flyers found just that, scoring eight unanswered points, to lead by five points with 52 seconds remaining.

Edwards made a pair of free throws to keep Duquesne in the game and then got the ball back after the officials reviewed a Dayton turnover. The Dukes would give the ball right back allowing Key to bury two free throws.

Dinkins would hoist and bury a three-point shot to cut Duquesne’s deficit to two points.

Dayton was still in the driver’s seat with 13 seconds remaining in regulation, but instead, Smith turned the ball over and Cam Crawford tied the game.

With seven seconds to play, it appeared a foregone conclusion that this game would head into overtime, but instead Crawford was called for a foul.

“Yeah, and I’ll take as much blame as him,” stated Joyce. “He made a decision but it’s always a reflection. We can’t have that mistake. We don’t let anyone just take one mistake; we look at it in the mirror from a team standpoint what could we have done better? Why did he think he was supposed to foul in that circumstance? But we’ll move on, I’m not disappointed with him.”

Smith stepped up and split free throws. Dinkins’s final three-point attempt did not fall through the rim.

“He got a tremendous look, he’s a big-time shot maker, he gave it his best effort,” Joyce finalized. “I’m proud of my guys today. We didn’t get necessarily the results we want from the outcome of the score, but we got the effort and energy we want. Everyone stepped into the game, some guys didn’t play their best today, but we picked guys up, so I’m extremely proud of my group. It’s a tough one but this is basketball, but sometimes there’s ending like that. Today we’re a part of that.”

Duquesne will look to regroup when it returns home Wednesday night against Fordham. That game can be viewed on ESPN+ or SportsNet Pittsburgh.