Duquesne men's basketball team defeats Towson in Akron

AKRON, Ohio — Duquesne’s success in Akron continues.

Playing at coach Dru Joyce III’s high school alma mater for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in the past seven years, the Dukes on Saturday made it 5 for 5 in victories at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

Cam Crawford scored 13 points, Tre Dinkins III added 12 and Jakub Necas finished with 10 as Duquesne led from the opening tip and beat Towson, 65-47, in the Morgan & Morgan Classic at LeBron James Arena.

“This is home,” Joyce said he told his players before the start of the game. “I told the guys I’ve never lost here, as a player, as an assistant coach and now as a head coach, and I don’t plan on doing it anytime soon. So let’s take care of business.”

And they did, playing what Joyce said was “probably our best performance in the early season so far.”

It was Duquesne’s sixth consecutive victory in a series of annual games in Joyce’s hometown. All but one was played at at St. Vincent-St. Mary, with the Dukes playing at Ellet High School in 2019. The team didn’t make the trip to Akron in 2020, the covid-19 year.

“It was more of home game for us, being back where Coach Dru played,” said Crawford, the Marshall transfer playing in his first season at Duquesne. “It holds a lot of significance to him, so we wanted to get a win for him, too.”

Joyce switched up Duquesne’s starting lineup, inserting Crawford and Necas, and it seemed to pay off.

“I thought we needed to make a change,” Joyce said. “I just tried to insert some different intangibles in our lineup. Over the past few games, we hadn’t gotten off to good starts. It’s not the whole 40 minutes of the game, but those things matter.

“Cam and Jakub both had good first halves. They really brought some size, made shots and were outstanding, defensively.

Towson shot 28.3% (15 for 53).

Meanwhile, Crawford was most excited about the victory.

“This is my fourth year of college basketball, and I’ve started five games,” he said. “It’s not really important to me.”

After Towson trimmed a 15-point lead to 47-41 at the 8-minute, 24-second mark, Duquesne (3-8) rallied.

Sparked by back-to-back baskets by Dinkins — the latter a long 3-pointer — Duquesne regained control and pulled away on the strength of a 14-2 run.

Nendah Tarke’s 10 points led Towson (4-7), a Coastal Athletic Association member picked to finish first among the league’s 14 teams.

Duquesne led at halftime 34-19 following Matus Hronsky’s 35-foot desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Dukes kept the lead in double digits in the second half until Messiah Jones’ traditional three-point play with 11:56 remaining pulled Towson within 42-33.

Jones’ layup with 8:24 to go drew the Tigers to six points down, the closest they’d get to catching the Dukes.

Duquesne shot 42.3% (11 for 26) from behind the arc, led by Dinkins (4 for 7) and Crawford and Hronsky (both 3 for 5).

Kareem Rozier logged six assists, and Jahsean Corbett and David Dixon grabbed six rebounds each for Duquesne, which is idle until Dec. 21, when it hosts UC Irvine at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

The victory comes on the Coach Dru Joyce Court, named after Joyce’s father, St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce II. It’s the same floor where Joyce III once played — under former Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot (also an Akron native) and under Joyce’s father.

“Tonight we had good energy, good juice,” Joyce III said. “We played 40 minutes of basketball. From start to finish, we led the game.”

By now, the story of Dru Joyce III is a familiar one.

It is a story about the son of a coach, a diminutive point guard, one-fifth of the famed “Fab Five” national championship team at St. Vincent-St. Mary, which also included Joyce’s best friend, the inimitable LeBron James.

Dru Joyce III, a.k.a. “Little Dru,” played two seasons at St. Vincent-St. Mary under his father, “Coach Dru,” before attending the University of Akron, where he played four seasons from 2003-07.

There, he reunited with Dambrot, the Zips’ longtime coach and the predecessor to “Coach Dru” at St. Vincent-St. Mary as well as a mentor to “Little Dru.”

Following a 12-year professional playing career in Europe, “Little Dru” returned to the United States as an assistant coach at Cleveland State.

He spent three seasons with the Vikings before again reuniting with Dambrot, this time as an assistant at Duquesne, where Dambrot had migrated and eventually led the Dukes to an NCAA Tournament appearance last season before his retirement.

By then, “Little Dru” had become Dambrot’s associate head coach, presumably to be groomed as Dambrot’s replacement.

It has been a rocky start to his first season as a college head coach, but Joyce III has maintained his poise.

Through Duquesne’s first 10 games, he had remained patient, rarely showing emotion. But Saturday, Joyce III was animated throughout the contest.

“It wasn’t my plan,” he said. “The game of basketball brings out a different personality that many don’t see off the court. They can’t figure it out. I’m competitive. I just want the best for my guys, so we’re just trying to implore them to do different things on the court, to be in position, because sometimes they need a reminder.”

Still, he has said repeatedly that he’s not about to lose his cool.

Following a 61-56 home loss to Maine on Wednesday, Joyce calmly explained the reason for his tranquil mindset.

“I’m not going to get frustrated. I’m going to get to work,” he said. “I’m going to figure out what we can do better as a staff, as a program and get to work. I don’t have time to sit here and be frustrated and pout and be sad and disappointed. Frustration isn’t going to get me ready (for the next game). Putting a plan to action, figuring out a solution, that’s going to have us ready. So, I’m going to be focused on that.”

Where Dambrot possessed a fiery side, Joyce III has shown restraint in his first year.

Joyce II — “Coach Dru” — was unable to watch his son’s team get a much-needed victory Saturday as St. Vincent-St. Mary was in Las Vegas to face Bishop Gorman (Nev.).

“I’ve got to take that up with the guys that do the scheduling,” Joyce III said.

In his father’s absence, Joyce III still hoped he’d made him proud.

“I didn’t have a chance to speak to him. He’s locked into the game, and sometimes, I get into my own focus,” Joyce III said. “Some things go without saying. I know he wishes me well. He wants the best for me. I’ve always known that.”