Duquesne rallies from 17-point deficit, defeats Rhode Island

Keith Dambrot said he didn’t want to scream at his players.

“At 62, that’s dangerous,” Duquesne’s coach said. “It’s not good for my health.”

But he walked into the locker room at halftime Wednesday night with a message for his team when the Dukes looked to be on their way to a third consecutive defeat.

“I lost my mind. I just screamed for 10 minutes,” Dambrot said.

He said his eruption was similar to the night at PPG Paints Arena in 2018 when he was ejected from the Penn State game. Only this time, his anger was directed at his players, not the officials. (Although Wednesday’s lead official Brian Dorsey also worked that PSU game.)

The Dukes (4-5, 3-4 Atlantic 10) apparently got the message, and they went out and rallied to defeat Rhode Island, 71-69, at La Roche’s Kerr Fitness Center.

Dambrot’s mood at halftime was understandable. The Dukes trailed by 17 points in the first half, 13 at halftime and at least 10 most of the night. Players were late gathering loose balls and rebounds, committed too many turnovers and allowed Rhode Island easy baskets most of the night.

Dambrot had to say something.

“I challenged them to put more energy into playing the competition than (whining) at each other and complaining,” he said. “I told them if they played hard, they’d be surprised at the result.”

“Coach was speaking facts,” said freshman Chad Baker, who led the Dukes with 19 points. “In the first half, we were not all connected together. Everybody was a little bit spaced out.”

Dambrot, who’s in the midst of his fourth season, said his team was “at the fork in the road.”

“One side was toughest and the other side was excuse mechanisms and softness,” he said. “So, I challenged their toughness level.”

It has been a difficult season for the Dukes as they battled through a covid-19 outbreak and two starters transferring. Those things are real, but they didn’t matter to Dambrot as he addressed his team at halftime.

“I didn’t come here to put up the white flag when things get tough,” he said. “I don’t expect my guys to put up the white flag when things get tough, either. We may get our (rear ends) beat in, but we’re not going to go down without a fight. It was up to me to challenge our guys to make sure we didn’t get punked in the second half.”

The comeback didn’t begin immediately after halftime.

Rhode Island (7-8, 4-4) led 54-40 with 14 minutes, 22 seconds left in the game before the Dukes started to work the ball inside to center Michael Hughes and forward Marcus Weathers.

At that point, Duquesne outscored Rhode Island, 26-11. Tavian Dunn-Martin’s 3-pointer tied the score at 64, and Hughes’ hook shot with 5:23 left gave the Dukes their first lead, 66-65, since early in the game.

Rhode Island didn’t hit a shot from the field in the game’s final five minutes, but the lead seesawed briefly before Dambrot inserted Ryan Murphy, a transfer from Pitt, into the game for his ability to shoot over the defense.

Murphy’s basket with 1:02 left gave Duquesne a lead it never surrendered, 70-69, and Dunn-Martin added a foul shot.

Rhode Island’s D.J. Johnson missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer and the victory was final.

“It didn’t go in,” Baker said. “Live another day.”

And so ended the game that turned out to be the 14th Duquesne comeback from a double-digit margin in Dambrot’s past three seasons.

The Dukes, who had been struggling to score, shot a season-high 50% (26 of 52) after practicing at La Roche — their home away from home — on Monday.

Baker hit all five of his 3-point attempts, Hughes added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and Weathers scored 12 points. All nine of Dunn-Martin’s points came in the second half.

Baker played his best game of the season, but he did it with a heavy heart after getting news shortly before the game that his best friend from Colonia (N.J.) High School died earlier in the day.

“I played this game for him,” Baker said. “The rest of the season’s going to be for you, Chad.”

Get the latest news about Duquesne basketball and all things Dukes athletics