The cliche sports debate has always been rest vs. rust. When one team has more downtime than its opponent one of two things can happen: It can play to their advantage and they will be more prepared or the lack of repetition will hinder them.
The latter was obviously the case for Duquesne, who fell to Little Rock in its season opener by a final of 76-66 in the first of three games it will play as a part of the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
"We have to play better," Keith Dambrot said after the loss. "I just felt like we were running in mud most of the night. We really didn’t have any answers for them.”
For some, the loss might come as a surprise while others, including Dambrot, might have seen it coming.
The Dukes' coach had spoken Friday about how he was worried about the overall condition his team was in. His fears became reality on Monday when the Spartans (2-1, 0-0) took absolute control in the second half, shooting an impressive 73.7% from the field, outscoring Duquesne 42-36 in the final 20 minutes of play.
"We’re just trying to get our feet on the ground," Dambrot said. "I think some teams are going to play a little bit better and some teams are going to play a little bit worse until they get back into the routine of it all. Obviously we didn’t play very good."
Dambrot mentioned that the pandemic related shutdowns didn't help his team's ability to prepare for the season. Between not having a home gym to practice in, to the two-week shutdown the team was forced to go through after a one player tested positive for COVID-19, Dambrot says he felt that his team is still behind schedule.
"It’s a hard deal," Dambrot said. "It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in coaching. We don’t have a lot of time to rally ourselves."
The area Dambrot seemed to be disappointed in the most was arguably his team's biggest strength entering this season: the front court. The Dukes were out-rebounded 22-15 in the first half.
While they closed that gap in the second half, Little Rock forwards Nikola Maric and Rout Monyyong had their way in the paint, finding many high percentage looks down low to help build an insurmountable lead.
"I felt like our big guys had very little juice, really," Dambrot said. "Marcus [Weathers], Mike [Hughes], they looked tired.”
The only thing Duquesne fans can do now is hope that this loss serves as a wake up call. Greater challenges are ahead for the Dukes and their head coach knows it.
"It looked like a first game to me," Dambrot said when evaluating his team's overall performance. "We play a better team on Wednesday so we better buckle up, because they’re better than Little Rock.”
• Maric led the way for the Spartans scoring a game high 16 points, while Monyyong and Markquis Nowell also turned in solid performances, each finishing the game with a double-double.
• Weathers and Sincere Carry tied for a team high 12 points. Carry played a game high 37 minutes which Dambrot said was simply due to his team needing him on the floor to remain competitive.
"I didn't want to play him that many minutes but we were so damn bad I didn't have many choices," Dambrot said. "I had to keep him in the game just to hang around the game. We feel like we've got other guys who can play there but they're young."
• Speaking of youth, four freshman made their first appearance for the Dukes on the college hardwood. Chad Baker contributed four points off the bench while Tyson Acuff and Andre Harris each scored two.
Tobi Okani also played six minutes for Duquesne, going 0-2 from the field with a pair of rebounds and an assist.
• A pair of seniors provided significant contributions off the bench for Duquesne. Former Atlantic 10 sixth-man of the year Tavian Dunn-Martin had 11 points. Hughes, who was not in the starting lineup for just the fourth time in his three seasons with the Dukes, finished the game with a team high eight rebounds along with seven points.
When I asked Dambrot why he chose to go with Austin Rotroff to start the game at center over Hughes, his response was short:
"It was an easy decision," Dambrot said, before moving on to the next question.
• Arguably the biggest difference maker in Duquesne's loss was its performance behind the arc. The Dukes shot just 7-for-29 (24.1%) from three-point range, missing more than a handful of open looks.
Starting guards Maceo Austin and Lamar Norman Jr. finished a combined 3-for-12 from deep while Dunn-Martin was hardly any better, going 3-for-10.
"I felt like we had a lot of good threes," Dambrot said. "We didn’t make any. When you get Dunn-Martin and Lamar, they’re five for eighteen, I felt like all of those were good shots. We just didn’t shoot the ball well. I think we shot about forty percent of our shots last year were threes. That’s the way we play. They did a good job of minimizing Mike Huges and Marcus around the rim.”
• As Dambrot mentioned, things will not get any easier for Duquesne. Their next contest will be on Wednesday at 1 p.m. against UNC Greensboro (1-0, 0-0), who beat Little Rock 77-70 on Friday.
