Duquesne clamps down on Cleary in final nonconference game before A-10 play

A year ago at this time, Duquesne was feeling pretty good about its men’s basketball season after having just beaten Cleary, a first-year NAIA program, by nearly 50 points to improve to 9-3 heading into Atlantic 10 Conference play.

The Dukes stunningly then lost five straight to A-10 opponents.

“Last year’s over. We can’t have that again,” Duquesne’s Kareem Rozier said Friday night after another rout of Cleary at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, extending the Dukes’ winning streak to three.

Jakub Necas scored 15 points, Eli Wilborn added 14 and Duquesne rolled to a 93-45 victory over the outmanned Cougars.

“We piled in points from everywhere,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “The key thing I liked, that I want to continue to see is our ball movement. Throughout possessions, it’s about trying to find the best shot available. It takes being unselfish. It takes patience.”

In one of just two games in the nation involving Division I teams, Duquesne (5-8) shot 61.3% (38 for 62) and registered a season-high 28 assists. Cam Crawford added 12 points, and Jahsean Corbett and Rozier finished with 10 apiece for Duquesne.

Duquesne was playing in its final nonconference game before opening A-10 play with a New Year’s Eve day game at 2 p.m. Tuesday against Rhode Island at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

“You mean heading into the A-10 gauntlet?” Joyce asked with a laugh.

“Six teams in the top 100 (NET rankings), it’s going to be a battle every night. We’ll just have to be prepared for every game. You can’t look forward, and you can’t look back. We play Tuesday, and if you get hung up too much on Tuesday, you’ve got to go to Davidson (four days later). They’ll smack you in the mouth. You’ve got to be able to bounce back. It’s a quick recovery.

“You have to learn it, apply it and move on or the conference will chew you up.”

The victory also marked the eighth consecutive time this season an opponent has scored fewer than 70 points against Duquesne, the longest such streak since 10 in a row in 1961-62.

That Red Manning-coached team allowed an average of 61.1 points per game, posted a 22-7 record, finished with a No. 17 ranking by the Associated Press and a claimed fourth place in the National Invitation Tournament, then college basketball’s biggest event.

Thirteen games in, seven new transfers have been blending with Duquesne’s returning players from a 25-12 NCAA Tournament team, and the results are improving.

“Our players are understanding that trying to make the simple play and taking what’s available is the best solution,” Joyce said. “And then, we’re starting to play through that. Eventually, we’re causing defenses to break down. That’s what I’ve enjoyed the most.”

Duquesne has rebounded from an ugly 0-6 start on the strength of its defense.

During their first five games, the Dukes allowed at least 71 points each time out and were yielding an average of 77.4 points per game.

In their past eight games (56.6 points per game allowed), they’ve permitted a team to score no more than 66 points in a contest, lowering their season scoring defense to 64.6 points per game.

“It’s been about bringing it,” said Rozier, Duquesne’s junior point guard and a key piece to last season’s NCAA Tournament run. “We’ve been on a great track now, winning three in a row. It’s just about how are we going to bring it tomorrow?”

Duquesne lost 6-foot-9 junior forward Chabi Barre to an injury in the first minute of the game, but Joyce said he didn’t know how it would affect Barre’s status for the Dukes’ A-10 opener in four days.

“He’s been battling a hamstring issue that dates back to before the season started,” Joyce said. “There’s been some setbacks at times, where he may have tweaked it. I don’t know his timetable. Hopefully , we get him back soon. I hope for him and for us that he’s capable and ready to play for our conference opener.

Barre, who is averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in eight games, including four starts, joins sophomore guard Jake DiMichele (plantar fasciitis), senior forward Alex Williams (foot surgery) and junior guard Brandon Hall (knee surgery) on Duquesne’s injured list.

DiMichele’s status continued to be day-to-day, Joyce said. He is averaging 10.9 points.

Williams, a transfer from Furman, and Hall, a transfer from Howard (Texas), are out for the remainder of the season, both without having played a game.

Cleary (2-11), a second-year program coached by former Duquesne assistant Carl Thomas, was led by A.J. Hess and Chris Williams with eight points apiece.

Duquesne was hoping for a better start to the A-10 schedule than last season, when the Dukes began with five conference losses before rallying to finish 10-8 and eventually winning the A-10 Tournament championship for the first time since 1977.

The slow start followed a 95-47 victory over Cleary.

“I thought since Day 1 that we have a resilient group that can get through anything,” Joyce said. “I still truly believe that.”