Dru Joyce III waited much longer than he’d have liked for his Gatorade shower.
On Tuesday, Duquesne’s first-year men’s basketball coach finally got it.
Junior forward Matus Hronsky tied his career high with 13 points to lead four Duquesne players in double figures as the Dukes defeated Old Dominion, 67-54, on the final day of the three-day Cayman Islands Classic in George Town, Grand Cayman, for Joyce’s first college coaching victory.
“It’s just exciting, man,” Joyce said. “You kind of wait for the parade, the shower, whatever they want to call it — the Gatorade shower. That’s a moment you see all the time.”
After a school-record six losses to start a season, Duquesne (1-6) finally provided Joyce with a long-awaited win. The Dukes entered the tournament with four consecutive losses and added to the skid by failing to hold leads in their first two games of the event and losing to South Dakota State and Hampton.
But against Old Dominion (2-6), there was no collapse.
“You wait for your chance, and today was my opportunity, so I’m excited,” Joyce said. “But I’m super excited for the players. I’ve had my chance to jump up and down and win games (first as a player and then as an assistant coach). For them … I’m excited for what they’ve been able to accomplish just through their toughness and resiliency.”
Maximus Edwards added 11 points, and Jahsean Corbett and Chabi Barre scored 10 apiece for Duquesne, which expanded a 26-19 halftime lead to as many as 15 points in the second half.
Junior forward David Dixon, who was ejected from Monday’s game for a Flagrant 2 foul in the first half against Hampton, returned to grab a career-high 12 rebounds as Duquesne held a 41-37 edge on the boards.
Duquesne shot 25 for 53 (47.2%) and overcame 20 turnovers to post its first victory since beating BYU on March 21 in an NCAA Tournament first-round game.
While the Dukes’ six consecutive losses to start this season were the most in the 110-year history of their program, Joyce preferred putting it all behind him and hoped his players would follow his lead when the team returned to the United States for Thanksgiving break.
Duquesne will play three consecutive games at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse beginning Dec. 3 against Saint Peter’s.
“They kept believing, they kept fighting for us throughout the losses,” Joyce said. “Those sometimes can take you to some dark places, not winning tight games and close games.”
Other than an 84-58 blowout loss at DePaul on Nov. 15, Duquesne’s remaining five losses were by an average of 6.4 points per game.
“It’s rewarding, especially for the guys,” Joyce said. “The most important thing from my perspective as a coach is I know the effort, the energy, the time, the work they put in.”
Old Dominion’s Devin Ceaser led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Robert Morris transfer Stephaun Walker finished with 10 rebounds for the Monarchs (2-6), who shot just 2 for 17 (11.8%) from 3-point range and 21 for 64 (32.8) overall.
After Duquesne took a 36-23 lead in the second half, Old Dominion used a 9-2 run to cut the margin to six points.
Duquesne pushed the lead back to 13 (49-36) before going scoreless for nearly 4 minutes but still maintaining a double-digit advantage when Tre Dinkins III sank two free throws with 4:45 remaining to end the drought.
Hronsky’s 3-point shot and a basket by Barre capped a 9-2 Duquesne run to give the Dukes a 58-43 lead with 2:47 to go, and Hronsky, who shot 5 for 9 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) iced the outcome with a pair of breakaway dunks.
“Credit to our staff and our players for just remaining resilient and willing to say, ‘All right, let’s see if we can figure this thing out,’” Joyce said. “Just a huge credit to our guys for making plays and responding the way they did. I’m proud of them.”