By CHARLIE PARENT & SAM LANCE
The madness is in full swing as No. 11 Duquesne took down No. 6 BYU, 71-67, in the NCAA Tournament’s first upset of the year. This was the Dukes first NCAA Tournament win since 1969.
BYU’s high octane offense wasn’t enough for the physicality of the Dukes. The Cougars were held to 8-of-24 from the three-point line and 38.6% from the field.
“I think the score pretty much says exactly why we won,” Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot said. “That’s a very high scoring team, and we knew that we had to play into the 60s, low 60s, mid 60s, and not much higher than it was for us to win. That’s just not the way we win.”
Duquesne guard Dae Dae Grant dropped a team-high 19 points while his backcourt partner Jimmy Clark III added 11. Jaxson Robinson starred off the bench for BYU, posting a game-high 25 points.
The Dukes started off hot with a 9-0 over the first five minutes of the game. BYU was able to chip away and eventually grabbed a 20-19 lead with 7:25 to play in the first half. But after that, Duquesne quickly regained control of the game and really never looked back. BYU never led after up 20-19, and even though it was close down the stretch, Duquesne’s defense ultimately prevailed.
“I thought we did an unbelievable job of taking their punches and punching back,” Dambrot said. “They wobbled us for sure. We were wobbly-legged. We had a cut under our eye, over our eye, but we just kept fighting back. We just made enough plays. Again, nothing has come easy for this group. We’ve had to do it the hard way. We were running uphill all year, just trying to get to .500 in the league. We win at George Mason and VCU, win a squeaker against George Washington, and then played pretty good basketball in the A-10 tourney. Certainly we were tested in that as well. The more times you’re put in those positions, the more you respond.” Dambrot has been a headline in the buildup to the tournament as he coached LeBron James in his high school years at St. Vincent – St. Mary. Dambrot will retire after the season, he announced this week.WE’RE STILL DANCING BABY. pic.twitter.com/0iFKAHaKSZ
— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 21, 2024
James’ former teammate, Dru Joyce III, is now an assistant coach under Dambrot. James gifted the Dukes “crates” of new shoes before Thursday’s game. Duquesne has now won nine straight games dating back to Feb. 28. They will play the winner of No. 3 Illinois and No. 14 Morehead State on Saturday. “It’s a blessing and high appreciation to be under coach’s wing and be here for a couple years and be under the legacy, learn so much,” Grant said. “Build that love and relationship means a lot. We’re trying to keep it going. We’re not satisfied.” “They just won’t let me retire, man. I’m trying to retire,” Dambrot said. “We keep winning games, they’ll make me an old man.” Follow Charlie on Twitter Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookOn Dec. 3, 1999, I met Keith Dambrot, a 6-foot 14 y/o named LeBron and a 5-foot 14 y/o named Dru. Coach Keith said they’re going to be so special. They all are. Congrats Duquesne @CoachDambrot & @DruOnDemand
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) March 21, 2024
