Following Duquesne's loss in its season opener on Monday against Little Rock, Keith Dambrot presented his team with a challenge. The Dukes head coach called out multiple players for their poor performances, especially his veterans.
"Our older guys have to play better,” Dambrot said during Monday's post game zoom call. Luckily for him, they did.
Seniors Tavian Dunn-Martin, Marcus Weathers and Michael Hughes along with three year starter Sincere Carry each scored in double figures, leading the Dukes to an 81-68 win over UNC Greensboro in the second of three games they will play at the University of Louisville's KFC Yum! Center as a part of the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic.
"They were mad they didn't win, obviously," Dambrot said after Wednesday's win. "Look, I've had lots of teams play poorly the first game of the year. I mean, you just can't push the panic button."
Perhaps no player had a bigger reason to be mad after Monday's loss than Dunn-Martin. The senior guard started his final season with Duquesne off on a sour note, shooting just 3-for-10 from three point range and turning the ball over seven times.
Rather than backing away from him, Dambrot gave him more of a workload to take on.
With sophomore guard Maceo Austin out with an ear infection, Dunn-Martin took his place in the starting lineup. Dambrot's decision paid off.
Dunn-Martin finished the game with a team high 21 points, doing so in a very efficient way, shooting 71.4% from the field including 4-for-6 from behind the arc.
"He's just a good player," Dambrot said. "He's not going to play as poorly as he did the last time out. I thought he played better defensively as well. Looking at his size, you're not supposed to be able to do what he does, but he does. You can't be the sixth man of the year in the Atlantic 10 if you're chopped liver."
Dambrot was not wrong. Dunn-Martin's four steals on Wednesday tie his career best. When he wasn't scoring or creating opportunities on the defensive end, he was protecting the basketball, finishing the game with zero turnovers.
"It feels really good," Dunn-Martin said after the win. "My teammates expect this out of me. My coaches expect this out of me. And I expect this for myself. Hopefully I can keep having consistent games and just stop going up and down."
As previously mentioned, Dunn-Martin wasn't the only 'older guy' to step up. Carry also had a big night for the Dukes (1-1, 0-0), scoring 15 points, snagging four rebounds and recording a team best five assists. He also took on the task of guarding Spartans (1-1, 0-0) star point guard Isaiah Miller.
Miller, who was named Southern Conference player of the year last season received high praise from Dambrot after the game.
He's got to be one of the top 10 athletes in college basketball," Dambrot said. "He's an absolute freak athletically. I thought we made him work. He shot it 20 times, which is probably good for us because he's not going to shoot the three. But he made some tough ones around the basket."
Miller finished the night with 22 points but also five turnovers. Both were team highs.
While Duquesne and UNC Greensboro went toe-to-toe in the back court it was all Dukes down low. The physical duo of Weathers and Hughes under the basket led to scoring opportunities in multiple ways. Duquesne outscored the Spartans 14-4 in second chance opportunities.
The scoring margin was even more lopsided at the foul line, with the Dukes making 25 of their 33 attempts compared to UNC Greensboro, who only made nine total trips to the charity stripe.
"These guys are nuts," Dambrot said with a smile. "They just turn it on when they feel like it sometimes."
For Hughes turning it on means finishing the night with 14 points and 10 rebounds, good for his eighth career double-double. For Weathers, it means 18 points and looking like his old self.
For the Dukes as a whole, turning it on means their first win of the season. The challenge now becomes staying on. Their first test will be on Friday at 11 a.m. against Winthrop.
