Fans can even buy a book paying tribute to the season at the arena: “47 Years: The Story of the 2023-24 Duquesne Dukes.”
Duquesne wouldn’t have played in the NCAA tournament if it had not beaten Dayton 65-57 in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament last March in Brooklyn, N.Y.. That victory surprised the Flyer Faithful because Dayton has long dominated the series and swept two games from the Dukes in the regular season a year ago.
Then on Tuesday, in a game anyone who has watched A-10 basketball this season expected Duquesne to win, the series reverted back to the norm. Dayton never trailed, built a 44-25 halftime lead (its largest of the season), extended its advantage to as many as 30 points in the second half and coasted to an 82-62 victory.
“We played well,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “I thought defensively we kind of set the tone. They’re such a good 3-point shooting team. The emphasis was on trying to take away the 3. Their first three baskets were 3. But I thought overall the guys did a really good job of understanding that and taking some things away from them.
“Offensively, we were able to flow. I thought the ball movement tonight was really, really good. We had a lot of different guys who were able to take advantage of that.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 19th game:
1. The Flyers delivered their second best performance of the season from behind the 3-point line: On Dayton’s first possession, Javon Bennett shot a 3-pointer that hit the front of the rim, bounced off the backboard and then rolled around the rim before dropping.
On Dayton’s second possession, a 3 by Nate Santos hit the front side of the rim, bounced high off the backboard and fell through the net.
It was that type of night for the Flyers, though many of their future attempts hit nothing but net. They shot 56.5% (13 of 23), their second-best percentage of the season and their best since shooting 63.6% (14 of 22) against Lehigh in an 86-62 victory on Dec. 7. Through the first 25 minutes, they shot 76.5% (13 of 17).
Enoch Cheeks made 4 of 6 3-pointers and scored 23 points. Bennett made 4 of 4 and scored 16 points. Santos scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range.
“We were just making the right reads,” Bennett said. “Coach, you know we were playing better when we were moving the ball more and were a high-assist team. We kind of came into the game focusing on that, and it worked out.”
Dayton had 25 assists on 32 made field goals. A week earlier, it had nine assists on 22 field goals in a 67-59 loss to George Mason.
“It’s been something we’ve really been talking about,” Cheeks said. “Getting paint touches and distributing the ball to the perimeter, getting extra shots for guys. It’s contagious, and when we do that, we’re really hard to beat.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2. Dayton stopped Duquesne’s momentum: The Flyers (13-6, 3-3) won their second straight game dropping three straight to George Washington, Massachusetts and George Mason. They also won their first true road game of the season.
Duquesne (9-10, 4-2) entered the game with three straight victories against Saint Joseph’s, George Washington and St. Bonaventure. With a victory, it would have kept pace with three one-loss teams atop the A-10: George Mason (15-5, 6-1); Virginia Commonwealth (15-4, 5-1); and Saint Louis (11-7, 4-1).
Duquesne’s worst defensive performance of the season doomed it in its first A-10 loss at home this season.
“I would just say bad juice all around,” Duquesne guard Kareem Rozier said. “Even yesterday, we couldn’t quite get it in practice. Just no excuses. We didn’t have any good juice at all today. From the start, they hit us in the mouth a little bit and went on a little run. We could never quite recover. We were missing assignments. Just didn’t quite have it today. Just one of those nights.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. Dayton won despite missing two key players: Zed Key was in uniform but did not play after hurting his back Saturday in the first half of an 83-81 overtime victory against Loyola Chicago.
“He wasn’t able to practice the last couple of days and was still experiencing some soreness,” Grant said, “so I felt like it was best to let him continue that process of healing.”
Posh Alexander missed his third straight game with a foot injury.
“It’s always a next-man-up mentality,” Grant said. “We hope to have both of those guys back soon.”
With those two injuries, Jacob Conner played almost 18 minutes, the most action he had seen since the first two games of the season. He made his first 3-pointer to give Dayton a 20-11 lead midway through the first half.
Isaac Jack also provided a boost off the bench, scoring eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in 13 minutes. He had scored a total of 10 points in his last 11 appearances.
“We just have so much good talent in my position this year that it’s difficult,” Jack said. “I’m trying to take advantage of opportunities when I can. I’m really grateful for them.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Enoch Cheeks followed a career-high 26-point performance Saturday in an 83-81 overtime victory against Loyola Chicago with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He ranks second on the team with 13.7 points per game.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton shot a season-best 56.6% from 3-point range (13 of 23). Dayton made 13 of its first 17 attempts, including four in the first five minutes of the second half to turn a 44-25 halftime lead into a 58-32 advantage.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Saint Joseph’s (12-7, 3-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at UD Arena. The Hawks won 78-61 at Davidson on Tuesday.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Saint Joseph’s at Dayton, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2, 1290, 95.7
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