Duquesne routs St. Joseph's with suffocating defense

Goodbye to the “La Roche Hex.”

Duquesne made its final home-away-from-home men’s basketball game a rousing success before shedding its vagabond status Saturday night. Riding senior Marcus Weathers’ 24 points and 12 rebounds and a suffocating defense, the Dukes posted a 67-50 victory over St. Joseph’s at Kerr Fitness Center.

The Dukes will make their long-awaited move to their new home, UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Tuesday night against Dayton.

“I believe they’re going to be super excited when they see that place,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said of his team’s anticipated reaction when it takes the court Tuesday. “It’s an unbelievable place. I don’t give out compliments very easily, but I can’t imagine, unless we had another $50 million, it being any better than it can be with the amount of money we put into it.”

On Saturday, Duquesne surged to a 40-17 first-half lead against St. Joseph’s before cruising to its second consecutive win and third in the past four games.

It marks the end of a whirlwind stretch that saw Duquesne play its first five home games in this covid-19 shortened season at Division III La Roche in McCandless after splitting time last season at PPG Paints Arena, Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center and La Roche while its arena was being renovated.

Fellow senior Michael Hughes added 12 points and 7 rebounds for Duquesne (6-6, 5-5 Atlantic 10), which shot 38.8% overall but made just 6 of 28 3-point shots (22.2%). That continued a near season-long slump that took a brief reprieve when the Dukes made 14 from long range at Fordham in their previous game.

“We’re making headway, but we’re certainly not where we want to be yet,” Dambrot said. “We still haven’t shot the ball particularly well. But that ‘La Roche Hex’ hits everyone. There must be some kind of witchcraft going on here.”

Taylor Funk’s 15 points led St. Joseph’s (1-14, 0-9), which lost its sixth game in a row. The Hawks were playing for the 11th consecutive time without star guard Ryan Daly, who suffered a wrist injury in a Dec. 21 loss to then-No. 10 Tennessee.

St. Joseph’s shot a season-low 28.3% overall against Duquesne.

Despite the inconveniences of the past two seasons, which also included practicing at an auxiliary recreation center on campus, the Dukes posted a 21-9 record a year ago and managed to climb to .500 this season with their latest victory.

“I’m proud of what our guys have done,” Dambrot said. “I don’t think there’s many teams around the country that can take the hits that we took and still rally back and have enough toughness to be in every game they’ve been in throughout the season. And without (much of) a preseason (schedule).

“It says a lot about those young guys.”

Duquesne’s defense against St. Joseph’s was sharp at the onset while the Dukes were rolling to a 25-7 lead behind Weathers’ 10 points. St. Joseph’s didn’t manage to break double figures until Jordan Hall’s 3-point shot with 5 minutes, 3 seconds left before halftime.

Hall’s 3-pointer in the second half with 7:54 left pulled St. Joseph’s within 61-45, the closest the Hawks would get.

Duquesne, which committed just six turnovers — the fewest in a game in Dambrot’s four seasons with the Dukes — still managed the 17-point victory despite going scoreless for the final 4:28.

No worries for Dambrot & Co., though — at least for now.

“We’re finding our identity,” said Weathers, who notched his second consecutive double-double and third of the season. “Defense is the biggest thing. We’re keying in on being one of the top defensive teams in the league, and rebounding, as well.”

Weathers is among three seniors on a team that paused for three weeks in December for covid-related reasons. Hughes and Tavian Dunn-Martin are the others.

They were rusty upon return and took on the added burden of leading a large group of freshmen who were pressed into service with an unexpected roster turnover.

“Our group is starting to really come together,” Weathers said.

The Dukes, who have had to reshape their lineup following the departure of two starters, Sincere Carry and Lamar Norman Jr., and the absence pf a third, Maceo Austin, who is sitting out for personal reasons but is still with the team.

Dambrot has employed multiple freshmen for large stretches and again went with two first-year players, Chad Baker and Mike Bekelja, in the starting lineup against St. Joseph’s.

Three others, Tyson Acuff, Toby Okani and Andre Harris, frequentlywere in and out of the Dukes’ lineup.

“You can see them getting better,” Dambrot said. “You can see them really making some strides. We’ve got a lot of freshmen who can play and they’ve got a lot of upside. We just have to get a little more disciplined.”