Brooklyn, NY – The Duquesne University men’s basketball team captured its first Atlantic 10 championship title since 1977 with a 57-51 victory over No. 5 seed VCU at Barclays Center on Sunday. With the win the Dukes improved to 24–11 (.686) overall and claimed an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
points of emphasis
Leading 36-22 at halftime, the Rams (22-13) fell behind in the second half and closed to within 44-41 after a dunk by Toibu Laval. Duquesne replied, getting a go-ahead layup from the second-year student. david dixon On a feed from the senior guard Dae Dae Grant Getting the lead back to five, 46-41. Duquesne shot just 17.2 percent (5 of 29) from the field in the second half, but the freshmen stepped up jacob necks Had a big performance, as he took an outlet pass in the paint from Dixon and hit a three-pointer to help cut the Dukes’ lead to 49–41. VCU couldn’t take the lead, scoring the next seven points to cut its deficit to 49-48 with 1:36 remaining, but on the next possession the senior guard Jimmy Clark III freshman guard found jake demichele Alone in the paint for a floater at 1:07 to give Duquesne a 51–48 lead. Duke sealed the win at the free-throw line, which included four from Clark III and a pair of forwards fausani drama,
quotable
“Very proud of the resilience and tenacity of our guys,” head coach Keith Dambrot, “We were in so many games and we had so many disappointments early in the year that we learned how to win even when things weren’t great for us. We were mature. Not emotional. We got into a rock fight, Which is probably good for us rather than spontaneous, fluid play. We’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, and if it’s 57-51 that’s good for us. We did a good job defensively the entire tournament, And I think that’s why we won.”
most outstanding player
Grant was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship after averaging 16.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the field. He scored 10 points in the title game, all of which came in the first half as Duquesne took its largest lead of 36–18 with 2:14 remaining before halftime. Joining Grant as a member of the 2024 Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team was Clark III, who averaged 15.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists while converting 13 of his 15 opportunities at the free-throw line (86.7%). of.
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