As the college basketball season sinks lower for the Duquesne Dukes, first-year coach Dru Joyce III reaffirmed Wednesday night a calm, cool and collective commitment to success in the wake of a 61-56 loss to Maine at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
“You’ve got to work through the kinks, learn to trust,” he said. “That’s part of the process in team building.”
Duquesne shot 34.5% and made only 5 of 11 free throws (Maine shot 45.8% and made 13 of 16 free throws). The Dukes committed 19 turnovers (the Black Bears finished with 14) and were outscored by six points in the paint.
No wonder they lost another close game to an underdog opponent.
A.J. Lopez scored 17 points, and Maine (7-5) came away with a tug-of-war, denying Duquesne (2-8) consecutive victories for the first time this season.
It marked the fourth time Duquesne has lost by five points or fewer. The Dukes, who were playing their third game without injured guard Jake DiMichele, are 0-6 in games decided by seven or fewer points.
DiMichele, who is sidelined with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, is averaging 10.9 points per game and is shooting 50% (29 for 58).
“I’m not going to get frustrated,” Joyce said. “I’m going to get to work. 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.
“We play in (three) days. I’ve got to make sure I’m ready. Frustration isn’t going to get me ready. 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.”
Duquesne travels to Joyce’s hometown of Akron, Ohio, on Saturday to face Towson in the Morgan & Morgan Classic at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School’s Lebron James Arena.
Kellen Tynes added 12 points, and Quion Burns chipped in 10 for Maine, a member of the America East Conference, where the Black Bears were picked to finish fourth among nine teams.
Tynes, a 6-foot-3 graduate student from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, also finished with four steals. During the 2022-23 season, he led Division I in steals with 98.
“Maine is a good defensive team,” Joyce said. “If you check the numbers, they’re top 65 (in scoring defense) and top 35 in turnovers.”
He wasn’t offering excuses, though. Just the facts, he said.
Tre Dinkins III led Duquesne with 12 points. Jahsean Corbett added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Dukes.
But Corbett continued to struggle at the free-throw line, converting 2 of 8 attempts to bring his season totals to 17 for 41 (41.5%). For the season, Duquesne ranks near the bottom of Division I at 61.5% (123 for 200).
In a game that featured eight ties and 12 lead changes, neither team led by more than three points in the second half until Duquesne took a 54-50 lead on a Dinkins 3-point shot with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left.
But the Dukes couldn’t build on it.
Maine took a 55-54 lead on five straight points by Lopez, kicking off a game-ending 11-2 run for the Black Bears.
“A four-point lead with 3:21 to go. Time to get a stop,” Joyce said. “That’s a key possession, but we didn’t challenge and take on the personal challenge of being disciplined to the scout.
“(Lopez) is the best shooter on the floor (7 for 11 against Duquesne), and to allow a catch-and-shoot (3-pointer) and not be in his lap, that’s a personal thing that you’ve got to be willing to sell out in the moment.”
With Duquesne’s offense out of sorts — again — it was up to the defense to keep the Dukes in the game.
Down by as many as 10 points in the first half, Duquesne forged a 29-29 tie at the break, scoring eight unanswered points to close out the half.
“We do want to be able to get off to a good start. That’s important,” Joyce said. “At some point you have to stop beating yourself. Nineteen turnovers. A bad job of taking care of the basketball and not being strong with the ball. Twenty offensive rebounds, only getting to the line 11 times. We have to take advantage of our opportunities. Too many extra possessions where we came up empty tonight.”
Early in the second half, Joyce displayed perhaps the most emotion he’s shown since taking over the program to start the season.
With Duquesne ahead 32-31, Corbett was fouled on a drive to the basket.
During the stoppage in play, the Dukes’ Chabi Barre slammed the ball onto the court and was hit with a technical foul, resulting in a pair of free throws by Maine’s Lopez.
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With Lopez on the line, Joyce stood facing Barre in front of the Duquesne bench for a one-sided conversation. Assistant Rick McFadden then cornered Barre and said some words to the sophomore big man before sending him to the bench, where he stayed for the remainder of the game.
“I’ve got some fire to me, and it’s a learning experience,” Joyce said. “At that moment, everyone has their own selfish ways. We’re individuals first. We’re trying to come together and be a team, and that’s not just basketball. That’s with anything. At that moment, Chabi let whatever it was — ego, pride, frustration — get to him. But we’re in a game and you can’t place that before the mission — the goal — before what we have to do, and he did tonight.
“I fully expect him to grow from this situation. I don’t think we’ll see that as being an issue.”
With Joyce able to show varying emotions following another setback — he managed to smile at times — the Dukes will continue their search for a solution to their woes.
“We have a good level of trust, but tonight we were just rushed, Unsettled,” Joyce said. “We had our chances, but we shot it like it was a hot potato (20 for 58 overall). We have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out.”