Duquesne beats Saint Louis in emotional A-10 Tournament win for coach Keith Dambrot

There was no denying it. This win was special.

Following Duquesne’s 83-73 victory over Saint Louis in a second-round Atlantic 10 Tournament game Wednesday night at Barclays Center in New York, Dukes coach Keith Dambrot spent a great deal of time discussing a number of subjects.

It wasn’t until near the end of his comments that Dambrot fought to control some pretty heavy emotions.

“I have to say that my wife was at the game tonight, and I’m really excited about that,” Dambrot said, his voice quivering. “That’s the first game she came to all year.”

Dambrot’s wife, Donna, has been battling breast cancer for months, which has forced the veteran coach to adjust his daily schedule to work around practices in order to help care for her.

He has acknowledged that this season could be his last, but he’s yet to announce a decision, choosing to wait until after the final game.

“If she didn’t win tonight, then she could never come to another game again because that’s how superstitious baseball players are,” said Dambrot, who played college baseball in his hometown, at Akron. “I was thankful that she was able to make the trip, and it means a lot to me. So, I had to mention that. I know you didn’t ask that question.”

Dambrot’s Dukes will play at least for another day, and he’s hoping for a day after that, and then, with the chance to play for an A-10 championship Sunday.

One down and three to go.

Duquesne will play No. 24 Dayton at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals for the third time this season after suffering a pair of regular-season losses to the Flyers, who earned a double bye as the third seed and will be playing their first game of the tournament.

“Lots of respect for Dayton,” Dambrot said. “My dad (Sid, who played basketball at Duquesne) had a million games against Dayton when they were both the best in the country. I know a lot about Dayton basketball. I’m from Ohio and a lot of our staff is from Ohio. We have the utmost respect for Dayton. With that being said, we’re going to try to compete and try to win.”

The Dukes dropped a 72-62 decision to the Flyers on Jan. 12 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, then fell to the Flyers, 72-59, on Feb. 13 at UD Arena, when Dayton erased a four-point deficit and outscored Duquesne 22-6 over the final 6 minutes, 39 seconds to turn the game into a blowout.

“We played a really good game at Dayton, other than the last five minutes or so,” he said. “We’re certainly capable.”

And the Dukes players surely agreed.

“I’m ready. That’s all I’ve got to say,” sophomore David Dixon said.

“Locked in,” added senior Jimmy Clark III.

On Wednesday, Clark scored 20 points and Dae Dae Grant added 17 to lead No. 6 seed Duquesne over No. 14 seed Saint Louis, which beat No. 11 seed Rhode Island, 74-71, in the first round to advance.

Duquesne (21-11), which brought the longest winning streak into the tournament, won for the fifth time in a row and 12th time in the past 15 games.

The Dukes played efficient offense, finishing 12 points above their season scoring average of 71.4 per game. The Dukes assisted on 22 baskets and committed just five turnovers.

“We wanted to win. We understand how to win,” Dambrot said.

Dixon added 13 points for Duquesne, which held off several Saint Louis runs.

The Billikens (13-20), without leading scorer Sincere Parker — out with an injury — trailed by four points at halftime and managed to pull within four in the second half before Duquesne built its lead back to double digits.

“We got just enough stop to hang in there,” Dambrot said. “They did a really good job of testing us.”

Gibson Jimerson led Saint Louis with 22 points. Cian Medley added 15, Larry Hughes II scored 11, and Terrence Hargrove Jr. finished with 10 for the Billikins, who were the only A-10 team to advance to the semifinals in each of the past four seasons.

The tournament takes a break Friday before returning to action with the semifinals Saturday and the championship game Sunday.

The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“See ya tomorrow,” Dambrot told reporters in New York.

“See you tomorrow,” a press conference moderator responded. “You and your wife, both, I assume?”

“Yeah,” Dambrot shot back. “She’ll be here tomorrow. She better win!”