Duquesne beats UC Santa Barbara for 6th win, matching victory total from last season

Duquesne hit a milestone Tuesday night, and Keith Dambrot had no intention of popping champagne, blowing trumpets or even talking about it.

But a reporter reminded the Duquesne coach of the obvious truth after his team defeated UC Santa Barbara, 72-61, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

The victory was Duquesne’s sixth of the season in seven outings, tying a school record for November and, more to the point, matching the team’s total for the entire 2021-2022 season (6-24).

Asked what it means to make such a quick recovery, Dambrot didn’t pull any punches.

“It means we (stunk) last year,” he said. “Six wins. What the heck. You’re supposed to be able to do that.

“I don’t even want to talk about last year. You had to remind me of that? I try to enjoy the game, the win and you had to remind me of those six rotten wins last year.”

Dambrot would prefer to talk about this team, his sixth at Duquesne, and what it may be able to accomplish this season.

The victory against UC Santa Barbara might have been one of the most impressive of the season.

The Gauchos (4-2) are favored to win the Big West Conference, with two players – 6-foot-9 forward Andre Kelly and 6-10 forward Miles Norris – who transferred from California and Oregon, respectively. Kelly averaged 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season for California.

Both were effective against the Dukes, combining for 24 points, but not overwhelming.

The player who allowed Duquesne to remain in command through most of the game was guard Dae Dae Grant, a Miami (Ohio) transfer who was sick and didn’t practice Sunday and Monday. Yet, he hit 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range and scored 26 points, giving him four consecutive games in the 20s. He is converting 55.4% of his shots (46 of 83).

“When you have a guy who can score the ball, you have to let him loose,” Dambrot said. “He’s been a handful. You better not give him an inch because (his shot) gets up there quick.

“I thought I saw a lot of tape on him (in the recruiting process), but he’s been better than advertised. He’s been coachable. He’s done whatever we’ve asked him to do.”

Dambrot said Grant’s ability to consistently score in the 20s may be “the best I’ve ever had (while winning 490 games in 25 years).”

Grant was supported by point guard Tevin Brewer, who scored 13 points, and freshman forward David Dixon (12). Plus, Austin Rotroff and Tre Williams contributed eight and seven rebounds, competing against UC Santa Barbara’s bigs.

The other key was Duquesne’s resistance at the 3-point line. Coming in the game, opponents were shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc. The Dukes’ 3-point defense was ranked 346th of 352 Division 1 teams. UC Santa Barbara tried 16 Tuesday but made only three (18.8%).

The other element that pleased Dambrot was how his team stood up to a rally that threatened to ruin what had been a good night.

The Dukes led for most of the game against the Gauchos, who had won four of their previous five games by an average margin of more than 13 points.

But UC Santa Barbara didn’t go away easily. Duquesne took its largest lead of the game, 45-31, on one of Grant’s 3-pointers with 16 minutes, 22 seconds left in the game. At that point, the Gauchos went on a 22-12 run that cut the Dukes’ lead to 57-53 with 7:18 to play.

Duquesne responded with four points from Williams — two foul shots and a basket — and 3-pointers by Grant and Brewer to pump the lead to 67-55.

“We took the punch. Our guys hung in there,” Dambrot said. “That’s encouraging.”

Dambrot likes the trajectory his team has taken early in the season, but he’s been coaching long enough to know there are no guarantees.

“You know how fragile this stuff can be,” he said. “I have no reason to think this team won’t win. Why would I? We’ve withstood everything that we can withstand. We’ve had injuries. We’ve had sickness. They just keep coming every day and get along and do what we ask them to do.

“Can we win big in the (Atlantic 10)? I think we’re going to be competitive. I don’t know how competitive, but I think we’re pretty competitive. We have a lot of guys who have a lot to prove. (Transfers) Dae Dae and Tevin, they want to win at this level.”

The preseason polls that projected Duquesne as a last-place team mean as much to Dambrot as last season’s record.

“People can pick you anywhere they want to pick you, but we don’t have to believe it,” he said. “I don’t think our guys believe they are bad. I think they believe they’re pretty good.”