Michael Hughes ejected in Duquesne's loss to La Salle

When a coach who has led teams through 731 games in 23 seasons bares his soul after a loss, his words probably matter.

Especially when he says, “It’s probably as poorly as I’ve had a team play.”

Painful honesty from Duquesne’s coach after the Dukes’ 85-65 loss Wednesday night at La Salle (9-14, 6-10 Atlantic 10), a team that committed 22 turnovers and had lost six of its previous seven games. It was the Duquesne’s sixth consecutive loss at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia.

Keith Dambrot was embarrassed and believed his team felt the same.

“We were bad emotionally. We were bad physically. We were bad mentally. We were just no good,” he said.

If the loss had occurred in December of a normal season, there might be time to fix things. But this is almost March, the Dukes’ final regular-season game is Saturday and the accelerated A-10 Tournament starts next Wednesday.

Time is running out on the Dukes (7-8, 6-7).

The game was close throughout the first half and for the first five minutes after intermission. La Salle led 33-29 at halftime, and Marcus Weathers scored eight of his 23 points early in the second half to pull the Dukes within 40-38.

But senior center Michael Hughes, whose presence in the paint is crucial to Duquesne’s success, was ejected after he was called for two technical fouls in less than five minutes. The second occurred after he blocked a shot by La Salle’s David Beatty and then taunted him.

Hughes, who was playing with a sore back, left the game with two points and three rebounds and the Dukes trailing 46-38. In the previous six games, he had averaged 14.7 points and 10.5 rebounds.

“We were at least functional in the first half. Once we lost Mike, we went in the toilet,” Dambrot said.

The incident occurred in the middle of a 13-0 La Salle run and ended any hopes of a Duquesne comeback.

“Emotionally, you can’t get technical fouls and get kicked out of the game. That hurts us,” Dambrot said. “I love Mike Hughes. We just have to quit talking. We’re not going to play very well without him.”

Duquesne had been solid defensively for most of this season. But in two road games after a 17-day, covid-related pause, the Dukes have allowed 79 and 85 points — the two worst defensive efforts of the season.

“We had a heart-to-heart after the game,” Dambrot said. “I told them the truth. We talked about trust, loyalty and commitment. We defined those terms, starting with commitment. When things go poorly, you find out who’s really committed.”

Dambrot said he takes “full responsibility” for how his team played.

“It’s been a hard year to judge anything. Nothing surprises me,” he said. “I’m not making any excuses. It’s just a weird year.

“I’m not mad at (Hughes). You just can’t do that. I have a lot of respect for the year he’s had. We have to still stay behind him because that’s part of commitment, too.”

With a short turnaround before playing Rhode Island on Saturday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Dambrot said the team wants to practice Thursday evening, even though he didn’t expect to return to Pittsburgh until about 4 a.m.

“Maybe a good, old-fashioned butt-kicking might be good for them,” he said. “Or, maybe it won’t be.

“We’re going to find out how much fight they really have.”

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