Duquesne Wins 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship

Brooklyn, N.Y. – The Duquesne Faculty males’s basketball workforce claimed its first Atlantic 10 Championship title since 1977 Sunday with a 57-51 victory over No. 5 seed VCU on the Barclays Center. The Dukes improved to 24-11 (.686) complete with the win and claimed an computerized bid to the 2024 NCAA Occasion.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS                                   
Proudly proudly owning a 36-22 profit at halftime, the Rams (22-13) chipped away throughout the second half, closing to inside 44-41 after a dunk from Toibu Lawal. Duquesne answered, getting a layup from sophomore forward David Dixon on a feed from senior guard Dae Dae Grant to pump the lead once more to five, 46-41. Duquesne shot merely 17.2 p.c (5-for-29) from the sphere throughout the second half, nonetheless freshman forward Jakub Necas received right here up huge, as he took an outlet cross from the paint from Dixon and buried a three-pointer to help push the Dukes lead to 49-41. VCU didn’t fold, scoring the following seven components to trim its deficit to 49-48 with 1:36 left, nonetheless on the following possession senior guard Jimmy Clark III found freshman guard Jake DiMichele alone throughout the paint for a floater at 1:07 to push Duquesne a 51-48 edge. The Dukes sealed the win on the free-throw line, along with 4 from Clark III and a pair from forward Fousseyni Drame.
 
QUOTABLE
“Super proud of our guys resiliency and toughness,” head coach Keith Dambrot. “We had been in so many video video games and had so many disappointments early throughout the yr that we realized the best way to win even when points didn’t go very successfully for us. We had been mature. Unemotional. We acquired in a rock fight, which is perhaps good for us fairly than a clear, flowing recreation. We’re among the many most interesting defensive teams throughout the league, and whether it is 57-51 that’s good for us. We did a wonderful job defensively all the occasion, and I really feel that’s the reason we acquired.”
 
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Grant was named the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship Most Wonderful Participant after averaging 16.3 components, 2.3 rebounds and three.5 assists whereas capturing 42.6 p.c (23-for-54) from the sphere. He scored 10 components throughout the title recreation, all of which received right here throughout the first half as Duquesne grabbed its best lead, 36-18, with 2:14 remaining sooner than halftime. Turning into a member of Grant as a member of the 2024 Atlantic 10 All-Occasion Group was Clark III, who averaged 15.8 components, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists whereas altering 13 of his 15 options on the free-throw line (86.7%).
 
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