Duquesne looking for better results in Round 2 vs. Dayton

The Duquesne basketball team (14-9/4-6 Atlantic 10) believes it’s better prepared to face the 16th-ranked Dayton Flyers (19-4/9-2) this time around.

The Dukes lost 72-62 at home to the Flyers on Jan. 12, a game in which Dayton never trailed.

“We were impatient against them, and they are very patient,” Dukes coach Keith Dambrot said. “If you are impatient against them, then you play defense the whole game, and you have issues. We had chances. We got off to a rotten start, and then we cut (the lead) to four. We stole the ball. We missed an open three. And then we got lost defensively.”

Dayton may be every bit as good as they were back then, as well. That’s despite a poor offensive effort (17 of 47 from the floor) in the club’s most recent outing, a 49-47 defeat at the hands of VCU. But Dambrot seems to think his team is more capable of giving a good accounting of itself in Round 2 on the road against the Flyers on Tuesday night.

After all, that first game between the clubs occurred as Duquesne was in the midst of a five-game losing streak to open conference play, and the Flyers were in the middle of what would prove to be a 13-game hot stretch.

“We’ve moved the ball better. Defensively, we’re more consistent,” Dambrot said. “We’ve maintained our compatibility and our team’s ability to stay together. We’ve rallied every time we got hit in the mouth. The more you play, the more you know where to cover different things. The more you play, the more places you know where to look on offense.”

One important aspect of playing against Dayton is getting a feel for how to deal with Da’Ron Holmes. The 6-foot-10 junior is on the Naismith and Wooden Award watch lists. He put up 33 points and 12 rebounds in the first meeting between the clubs in Pittsburgh.

“We didn’t post-double him much the last game,” Dambrot said. “That was the way we chose to go. I think we are capable of playing different ways now.”

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One player who may be able to help in that regard is Tre Williams. The senior forward was still working his way back into game shape at that point in the season, having suffered a thumb/wrist injury in November. Williams played only 11 minutes that night and had been on the floor for only a total of eight minutes in the previous two conference games.

Since that loss to the Flyers, Williams has averaged more than 17 minutes per game.

“We’ve got to do a better job at making Holmes make extra passes and then get him off of his shots,” Williams said. “He’s a good player. We have to get him off of his spots. Play hard. Crash the glass. Defensively, we are all locked in. We have definitely become a hard-nosed defensive team here. One of the best in the league, in my opinion.”

Underscoring both of Williams’ points, Duquesne definitely needs to rebound better this time against Dayton. The Flyers owned a 39-27 advantage on the glass at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. And, defensively, the Dukes are yielding just 67.9 points per game in conference play, the fourth best in the 15-team A-10.

Unfortunately for Duquesne, the Flyers lead the conference in that category with a mere 62.8 points allowed. However, Williams believed that Dukes are making strides on offense as well.

“We are moving the ball pretty well,” Williams added. “It’s not sticking in one guy’s hands. I feel like we are all getting involved on the offensive end.”

Jimmy “Tre” Clark III helped in that regard during Duquesne’s most recent outing against St. Bonaventure, a 75-69 road victory on Saturday. Playing what Dambrot called one of Clark’s most complete games of the year, the senior guard had 15 points, eight assists and just one turnover.

Clark had five turnovers and one assist vs. the Flyers last month.

“They know I’m a threat to the basket,” Clark said. “So, other teams have been collapsing a lot. So just try to make those reads to the other guys to get them more involved in the game.”

For as much of a struggle as the first game was against Dayton, in a way, the Dukes actually made progress. Dayton has won nine of 10 in the series and four in a row, including the 10-point loss on the Bluff last month. The margin of defeat in those other three games for the Dukes had been 20, 21 and 12 points.

Closing that gap on the final 10 points Tuesday could result in a season-turning moment for Dambrot’s club with eight games remaining on the conference schedule.