Duquesne category, Page 20
Tim Benz: Accelerated development of Mounir Hima a bright spot for Duquesne in 2022
Duquesne center Mounir Hima didn’t play any basketball as a child. Growing up in Tillaberi, Niger, soccer was his sport. “Me playing basketball is a destiny. I never thought about basketball,” Hima said Monday. “Basketball where I came from wasn’t a priority sport. You don’t even have a lot of...
Duquesne’s comeback bid vs. La Salle falls short, losing streak reaches 16
And now, Duquesne Nation turns its attention to the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament. Will it be “one-and-done” for the hapless Dukes after they dropped their 16th consecutive game in their regular-season finale Saturday? Or can they extend their season, as freshman guard Primo Spears wondered after his career-high 34...
Tim Benz: Feeling nostalgic about college basketball after a rough year for the sport in Western Pa.
Nostalgia can be a wonderful thing in sports. Just look at the way Pittsburgh recently basked in the memories of Ben Roethlisberger’s career as he faded into retirement in January. We are also just getting back from our extended trip in the “way back machine” to relive Sidney Crosby’s journey...
McConnell brothers show pride as sister Megan carries on family tradition at Duquesne
In advance of his team’s Atlantic 10 tournament opener against St. Joseph’s on Thursday (5 p.m.), Duquesne women’s coach Dan Burt was discussing second-year guard Megan McConnell. For Burt, the description is easy. “Simply, she’s a McConnell,” Burt said. For those that follow basketball in the Pittsburgh area, that succinct...
Duquesne’s losing streak hits 15 games after triple-overtime loss at George Washington
Everybody wanted it, but nobody wanted it. Until George Washington decided it wasn’t going to be the one to end Duquesne’s monumental, 15-game losing streak. Joe Bamisile scored 30 points and George Washington survived Duquesne’s valiant bid for another elusive victory to come away with a 98-93 triple-overtime victory Wednesday...
NCAA Tournament returns to PPG Paints Arena carrying history of upsets
Dave Saba was there the first time the NCAA Tournament came to Pittsburgh. It was 1997, and the Civic Arena (where it all happened) was still standing. Today, that site features a big pile of dirt in an empty lot. Then, Saba was seen as an outsider from Texas whose...
Rhode Island cruises past Duquesne as Dukes drop 14th straight game
When things are going badly for a struggling basketball team, nothing should be a surprise. So, when Rhode Island’s Jeremy Sheppard took a lead pass from Malik Martin and dribbled to half court Saturday with the first-half clock winding down, Sheppard did what anyone else might do: He heaved the...
Duquesne’s Tre Williams will have season-ending surgery to repair knee injury
Duquesne center Tre Williams will have season-ending arthroscopic meniscus surgery early next week to repair an injury to his right knee suffered Wednesday late in the first half of a loss to Davidson. His recovery time has been set at four to six weeks, Duquesne officials said. “I feel bad...
Davidson stretches Duquesne’s losing streak to 13 games in a row
The night after former Duquesne point guard Sincere Carry scored 42 points for Kent State, the current Dukes lost their 13th game in a row Wednesday, 74-50, to Davidson. “You don’t think having him would have helped us?” coach Keith Dambrot said. Carry isn’t alone. Duquesne lost 11 players off...
Time to channel a little extra motivation if Duquesne is going to upset Davidson
Since Tuesday marked the 42nd anniversary of the 1980 Team USA hockey win over the Russians, maybe Duquesne basketball coach Keith Dambrot caught a rerun of the movie “Miracle” on television. Perhaps he can gin up a Herb Brooks-esque pregame speech. I mean the Dukes do wear red, white and...
Duquesne’s skid hits 12 after loss at St. Bonaventure
Duquesne’s free fall in basketball has reached 12 consecutive losses, but coach Keith Dambrot insisted he is not going to stop searching for a successful formula. “We’re just trying to find some guys who will compete and who care about winning and competing,” Dambrot said. “Even if they don’t win,...
Duquesne men lose 11th game in row
Duquesne has hit bottom. The last-place Dukes completed a stretch of three games in five days by sputtering to their 11th consecutive loss Wednesday night, in part because of a horrendous offensive showing against George Washington at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Joe Bamisile scored 21 points to lead the visiting Colonials...
League-leading Davidson extends Duquesne’s losing streak to 10
Duquesne basketball coach Keith Dambrot — his team mired in a long losing streak — isn’t planning any new wrinkles just now. There’s no time, he said, with a schedule crammed with four games in eight days. “We just have to keep getting at it,” Dambrot said Monday night after...
Duquesne drops 9th straight game, losing at home to Fordham
File this one away in the stinker category — as in someone had to win. Fordham took the honors, despite playing without its leading scorer. Duquesne continued to reel, falling for the ninth time in a row. “I’m not used to this. It’s super hard,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said...
Duquesne losing streak hits 8 with defeat at Dayton
Duquesne’s losing streak expanded to eight games Wednesday night with its second lopsided loss of the season to Dayton. “They just have better players than we do,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said, clearly upset with another lackluster finish from his team. Kobe Elvis scored 13 points, and Toumani Camara added...
Duquesne men’s basketball team loses 7th in row
Duquesne’s basketball woes just keep continuing. Even without its leading scorer and rebounder, VCU survived the reeling Dukes’ challenge Saturday and handed them their seventh consecutive loss, a 71-62 decision at Siegel Center in Richmond, Va., behind Hason Ward’s 13 points and 10 rebounds. “They tried hard,” Duquesne coach Keith...
Duquesne’s losing streak reaches 6 in loss to Richmond
The losses hurt so bad that Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot made a confession Tuesday night during his 20-minute postgame chat with reporters. “There are a lot of days I feel like eating this microphone,” he said. That was after the Dukes were swallowed up by Richmond in the second half...
Duquesne men suffer 5th straight loss, falling at home to Saint Louis
Hushed, composed and humble, Keith Dambrot met his detractors head-on. It was as good a time as any for Duquesne’s fifth-year men’s basketball coach to reflect on the past and wonder what might be down the road. Dambrot, in the aftermath of a blowout loss at home, was searching for...
Keith Dambrot stands by rebuild of Duquesne roster while noting it was ‘risky business’
The clock read 3:30 Thursday morning when Keith Dambrot finally dragged himself and Duquesne’s four-game losing streak into bed. This, after a 72-61 loss at St. Joseph’s and a six-hour bus ride home (routine for most Atlantic 10 teams traveling from Philadelphia). Dambrot’s fifth season as the steward of Duquesne’s...
Duquesne displays effort, but fades late in loss at St. Joseph’s
Duquesne’s 72-61 loss to St. Joseph’s on Wednesday night offered evidence of the players’ effort, but it also showed the Dukes’ rebuilt lineup has a long way to go before it can contend in the Atlantic 10. “We’re just not cohesive enough as a group, physically, mentally and relationship-wise,” coach...
Duquesne rallies in 2nd half but falls to St. Bonaventure
When a coach becomes accustomed to winning, accepting defeat is like swallowing bitter medicine. But Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said after the Dukes’ 64-56 loss to St. Bonaventure on Friday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse that his team made important strides toward becoming a better team. Maybe not a good...
Keith Dambrot embraces challenge of rebuilding Duquesne
Keith Dambrot understands the gravity of the situation at Duquesne, but he vows to keep fighting. “This dog ain’t going to quit,” he said. The Dukes are 6-9 (1-2 in the Atlantic 10) and losers of two in a row. Most recently, they lost to Fordham by one point in...
Duquesne basketball looking to seize a 2nd chance on a big stage at home
Not much had gone according to plan for the Duquesne men’s basketball team (6-9) as the Atlantic 10 conference schedule approached. Coronavirus ran through the team right before the holidays. The whole conference endured a wave of postponements and rescheduled games. And a big chunk of the frontcourt — Tre...
Schedule changes give Duquesne 4 games in 8 days next month
Atlantic 10 schedule changes will create a busy week for the Duquesne men’s basketball team next month. Two of the three games postponed by covid complications earlier this season will be played over three days, giving the Dukes four games in eight days. After a regularly scheduled matchup against Fordham...
Plum grad Shannon Small fine-tuning her game for Duquesne women’s bowling team
At this stage in her life as a bowler, Shannon Small isn’t likely to make a quantum leap in her game. For someone who averaged 223 during her senior year at Plum, the ceiling isn’t far away. Now, it’s more about fine-tuning and adapting to the rigors of competing at...
