Beware of the trap.

Duquesne’s coaches warned their players of that classic situation as they were preparing for the unusual challenge of facing a nonconference opponent at home with the regular season headed into the February stretch run.

Luckily for the Dukes, they survived Chicago State’s upset bid Wednesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, coming away with a 65-60 victory in their final out-of-conference game.

Dae Dae Grant scored 17 points and Jimmy Clark III added 16 as Duquesne (12-8) posted its third consecutive victory.

“Coach mentioned they’re a good team,” said Grant, referring to Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot’s pregame advice about the road-weary Cougars, who were playing in their 15th road game and 17th away from Jones Convocation Center, their home court in Chicago’s South Side.

“He said if we don’t go out here and play, it was going to be a tough, gritty game,” added Grant, the Dukes’ overall leading scorer (17.6 ppg), who came off the bench and played 31 minutes while continuing to rebound from a recent concussion that kept him sidelined for three games. “Kudos to them. They were a good team, but we came out here and we got the W, and that was all that mattered.”

Grant shot 5 for 13 but just 2 for 7 from 3-point range, though he converted all five free-throw attempts to improve his season mark to 94.8% (92 for 97), which ranks third nationally.

Duquesne was bidding to hold a third straight opponent to fewer than 60 points and nearly did so until Chicago State’s Cameron Jernigan sank two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to send the Cougars to the 60-point mark.

Duquesne itself continued to search for offense. For an eighth game in a row, the Dukes failed to reach the 70-point mark.

“When you have offensive struggles, which we’ve had, no game’s easy,” Dambrot said. “They were tough.”

Chicago State (11-16), the nation’s only current Division I independent, with a victory against then-No. 25 Northwestern to its credit, provided Duquesne with a stern test, despite coming in as heavy underdogs.

“Their athletic ability kind of shocked us as a team, the coaches as well,” Clark said.

Considering some of the Cougars’ outcomes, it shouldn’t have.

“Northwestern is going to play in the NCAA Tournament and they’re probably going to have a decent seed,” Dambrot said. “They won that game, and they played Kansas State tough (62-55 loss on Jan. 2).

“They’re a good team, (Chicago State’s Gerald Gillion) is a good coach, they’ve got a good coaching staff, they’ve done some good things, they’ve got good athletes and they’ve got two really good players (Wesley Cardet Jr. and Jahsean Corbett). The rest of them are pretty good, too — good role players. It was a tough game. It was no different than playing (Atlantic 10 teams) Fordham or St. Bonaventure or any of them. It was the same type of game.”

Fear the dreaded trap game, which suggests a weaker team could overcome adversity and beat a stronger team on its home floor, despite the home team being a double-digit favorite.

“I knew it was going to be a pretty hard game,” Dambrot said. “It wasn’t like we weren’t juiced up to play them. I felt like our guys were ready to play.”

But the Dukes played nothing like a 12½-point favorite, shooting just 37.1% and converting just 3 of 20 3-point shots (15.0%).

“We go 1 for 13 in the last game (against Fordham) and 3 for 20 in this game and still win both of them?” Dambrot said. “You should be counting your lucky stars.”

David Dixon, whose crucial blocked shot with 10 seconds left preserved Duquesne’s 64-58 lead, and Fousseyni Drame added 10 points apiece for the Dukes. Drame’s 10 rebounds off the bench completed his second double-double of the season and helped Duquesne to a 41-38 edge on the glass.

“Credit to ‘Foos,’” Clark said. “Coach got on him at halftime and told him to play harder, and he came out with a double-double.”

“Yeah, ‘Foos.’” Grant chimed in, bringing a smile to the faces of both players.

The teams played to a 28-28 halftime tie and jockeyed back and forth throughout the second half.

Brent Davis’ 3-point shot with 2 minutes, 49 seconds left brought Chicago State into a 57-57 tie before Drame scored on an ally-oop pass from Clark with 2:03 to go to put Duquesne ahead for good.

Clark scored the next four points for Duquesne to give the Dukes a 63-58 lead with 26 seconds remaining, and the Dukes held on.

Corbett led Chicago State with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Davis added 11 points, and Noble Crawford chipped in 10 for the Cougars, who will join the Northeast Conference next season.

Cardet, the Cougars’ leading scorer (18.8 ppg), was held to five points, all in the second half, on 2-of-14 shooting. The 6-foot-6 Cardet, a junior guard from Tallahassee, Fla., who transferred from Samford, is being mentioned in early NBA draft predictions by several national outlets.

Grant said the team took the references as a personal challenge.

“Personally for me, what triggered me, was the draft board talk,” Grant said. “Coach did a good job of communicating that. I’m sure they used that to fuel our fire, which is great. That’s the thing that got me, that he’s on the draft board. He is a great player, don’t get me wrong. But that’s what fueled my fire, and my teammates, as well.”

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