Duquesne falls short against Weber State

It was another step in a learning process for a new Duquesne basketball team trying to find a successful formula in the early going.

Baby steps.

“We’re consistently inconsistent right now,” coach Keith Dambrot said.

Koby McEwen scored 21 points and Dillon Jones had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead Weber State to a come-from-behind, 63-59 victory over Duquesne on Monday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in the Wildcats’ first game played in Pennsylvania and only the second against a school from the commonwealth.

Cody Carlson added 10 points for Weber State (2-0), picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference after a second-place finish last season.

About those baby steps.

For instance, freshman guard Jackie Johnson III’s 27-point effort in just his third college game gave Dukes fans a glimpse of the his immense potential.

Johnson, who averaged 27 points per game last season at prestigious Hargrave Military Academy, tied a Duquesne record for points off the bench by a player. Jordan Stevens scored 27 against Abilene Christian in 2014.

But then, trapped near midcourt in the final minutes with the game tied and nobody to turn to, Johnson desperately called a timeout when the Dukes had none to give.

“We told our players a number of times we had no more timeouts,” Dambrot said. “I’m not mad at Jackie for that. He kept us in the ballgame. Jackie made progress tonight.”

But it’s a sign of how far Duquesne has to go to figure out the newness of this season.

“I don’t even know what to run when it really matters yet,” Dambrot said. “You can’t really figure that out until you get into a game. We’re inconsistent, but we’re new. The newness is costing us.”

McEwan made 1 of 2 free throws following a technical foul assessed to Johnson on the ill-advised timeout call to put Weber State in front for good, 60-59. Jones followed with three free throws in the final 18 seconds as Weber State held Duquesne (1-2) scoreless in the final 1:31.

Johnson shot 9 for 19 and made 4 of 8 3-point shots and 5 of 6 free throws. Kevin Easley Jr. added 10 points for Duquesne, which committed 20 turnovers and had just nine assists on 21 baskets.

The Dukes outrebounded Weber State 42-29 but shot just 35.6%, including 6 for 22 (27.3) from behind the arc. Duquesne was just 3 for 24 from 3-point range in a 73-63 loss to Hofstra on Saturday.

“You give up 63 (Monday) and you don’t win,” Dambrot said. “You’ve got to shoot some in. You can think you played poorly, but you’ve got to make some baskets.”

Following the 10-point loss to Hofstra less than 48 hours prior, Dambrot wanted an improved defensive effort from the Dukes on Monday. For some of the night, particularly in the first half, he got it.

“I made a mistake not playing Mikey Bekelja more,” Dambrot said. “When he plays, at least we guard somebody. I think that’s key.”

Bekelja was rewarded with a starting assignment following his stellar second-half defensive display against high-scoring Hofstra guard Zach Cooks.

He set the tone early Monday, getting the game’s first rebound.

On Saturday, Bekelja held Cooks to three points through the first 15 minutes of the second half after Dambrot inserted the freshman guard into the Dukes lineup. Cooks scored 20 first-half points to lead Hofstra to an 18-point halftime bulge.

“We played hard enough defensively in the first half tonight that we should have been up 18 or 20 points. We just made nothing again. When you let a team hang around like that … we made no plays when it mattered.”

But still, in a striking contrast from their slow starts that led to first-half deficits in the their first two games, the Dukes played with more urgency from the start against Weber State.

Duquesne held the lead for much of the game (27 minutes, 58 seconds), but the end result wasn’t what the Dukes had hoped for in their third consecutive home game to open the season.

They’ll play Northeastern on Friday in the first of four games at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Earlier in the day, Duquesne freshman point guard Primo Spears was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week after averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in Duquesne’s first two games of the season.

It also marked the first two college games for Spears, who had 14 points and seven assists in a 73-61 victory over Rider and 17 points in the loss to Hofstra.

Spears stumbled a bit in his third game, scoring just two points on 0 for 7 shooting.

“We don’t really know who to go to,” Dambrot said. “We had probably four or five guys who didn’t deliver when it mattered tonight, but ultimately that’s on me because I have to determine who that go-to guy is. For three years, we knew who those guys were. Right now, we don’t quite. That’s a hard thing.”

Amid Dambrot’s tinkering, Spears and Johnson were paired for a time together in the backcourt.

“We’ve got young guys,” Dambrot said. “Jackie (Johnson) made progress tonight. Primo was rookie of the week and then, he got hit in the mouth a little bit and he didn’t respond well. That will come with maturity.”