Duquesne overcomes shaky spell against VMI, stays unbeaten

Duquesne men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot could see it in practice.

The Dukes didn’t have the energy they needed to play against VMI on Wednesday night at La Roche.

Sleepwalking was not the best option in getting to the program’s best start since the 1979-80 season.

When the Dukes started to doze off after a fast start, VMI jolted them awake. The Keydets ran off 11 consecutive points in the first half and built a seven-point lead.

The Dukes survived the swoon, opened with a strong surge in the second half and cruised past the Keydets, 71-58, for a nonconference victory at Kerr Sport and Fitness Center.

“I cut way back the last two days because they scared me. They were dead as a doornail,” Dambrot said. “I tried to get them emotionally engaged because I figure physically we were good enough. We looked tired, but we rallied ourselves in second half.”

The win moved the Dukes for 7-0 for the first time in 39 seasons.

Perhaps a slow start from the Duquesne should have been expected.

Ten days without playing a game, especially sandwiched around a holiday break, can make for a difficult situation.

“They played harder than us in the first half, and we weren’t making open shots against their matchup zone,” said Dukes point guard Sincere Carry, who finished with 13 points and eight assists. “We had to play harder.”

The Dukes appeared strong at the outset. Following a layup from forward Michael Hughes, Duquesne held a 7-0 lead with 17 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first half. VMI (3-7) started 1 of 9 from the floor and didn’t score for nearly five minutes.

“We got a little too comfortable,” said Hughes, who scored a career-high 23 points on 10 of 11 shooting and added 11 rebounds.

The Keydets found their stride midway through the first half. In a run started by a Greg Parham 3-pointer and capped with another from Garrett Gilkeson, VMI surged from four down to take a 23-16 lead with 5:16 left in the first half.

“I give our guys credit, when their backs are against the wall, they play pretty good,” Dambrot said. “Maybe we should just make the score 20-0, and we’ll play better.”

At halftime, the Keydets maintained a 30-24 advantage.

Travis Evee led all scorers with 26 points, and Gilkeson (12) also reached double figures for the Keydets.

Duquesne, which opened the season half on a 12-2 run, went ahead for good after Tavian Dunn-Martin made a 3-pointer with 16:53 remaining. Hughes would complete a 3-point play on the Dukes’ next possession to stretch the lead to six.

Dunn-Martin added added 11 points for Duquesne.

The Dukes made their biggest adjustment on defense. VMI only shot 35 percent for the game and 32 percent (9 of 28) in the second half.

That allowed Duquesne to shake off its rust.

“Just chasing shooters,” Hughes said. “No one likes to do it. We had to keep switching off on the shooters and chasing the handoffs.”