Duquesne men’s basketball team back in action, defeats George Washington
Share this post:
Even after a month of covid-related inactivity, no one should be surprised Duquesne defeated George Washington, 75-63, on Saturday in its first game since Dec. 2.
There is experience in the starting lineup and depth on the bench, a fact proven by 43 points from four players who didn’t start.
But, perhaps, the most significant piece of evidence that coach Keith Dambrot might be getting somewhere while trying to rebuild the Duquesne program is this:
Two young players who didn’t start Saturday and weren’t active with the Dukes last season stepped up on a team loaded with seniors and helped defeat George Washington (2-7, 1-1) in an Atlantic 10 game at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C.
Freshman Toby Okani scored 14 points, hitting all six of his shots from the field and both free-throw attempts and adding two rebounds and a steal in only 22 minutes.
Sophomore Amari Kelly, who missed last season with a knee injury, looked fit while scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds in 16 minutes. He missed only one of seven shots.
They were two of five Dukes who scored at least 12 points, including seniors Marcus Weathers (14), Michael Hughes and Tavian Dunn-Martin (12 each).
Hughes, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior center, had an especially impressive stat line, with five rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
The Dukes held the lead for most of the game, handing out 17 assists on 28 field goals and committing only eight turnovers.
“You do that every night, you have a chance,” Dambrot said. “We have good depth. We have good players. It’s just a matter of getting in better condition, learning our system. We need to get better every day.”
Dambrot was pleased his team hit nearly 50% of its shots from the field (28 of 58) after a series of cancellations and postponements kept players out of the gym for repeated stretches last month.
He had special praise for Okani and Kelly.
“The thing I like best about Toby is he likes the game,” Dambrot said. “He wants to get in the gym. He wants to get better. He thinks he’s good, even to a fault. He’ll probably tell you his coach was stupid for not playing him more earlier in this season (a total of 15 minutes in the first two games of the season).
“But that’s OK. That’s what guys are supposed to do. They’re supposed to think they’re good.”
Okani said he was disappointed he didn’t play more in those games, but he remained patient.
“No matter how good I think I am, I still have to work for every opportunity I get,” he said. “Veterans took (the team’s freshmen) under their wings, just told us to play our game and everything’s going to come.
“I was disappointed, but at the same time, I knew it wasn’t my time, yet. I just have to get my feet wet. Veterans knew how to handle certain situations better than we did.”
Dambrot said he’s proud of how Kelly recovered from a knee injury, most recently, and personal tragedy after his mother died in a domestic incident while he was in high school.
“I’m proud of him. He’s been through a lot,” Dambrot said. “There’s not one player in America who’s been through more than him. He’s really a nice young man, and I’m happy for him.”
The work has just begun at Duquesne. The Dukes (2-1, 1-0) will be back inside Smith Center on Sunday for a rematch with the Colonials before returning home to play Davidson on Tuesday at La Roche.
“In a normal year, this is the best team we’ve had,” said Dambrot, who is three games into his fourth season as Duquesne’s coach. “Will it turn out to be? There are a lot of variables. It’s a crazy, crazy, crazy time. By far, right now, we have the best guys we’ve ever had.
“I’m proud, but it really doesn’t matter until we get to the end of March. (Sunday) could be another day where I’m not so proud.”