Dae Dae Grant shines as Duquesne men rout Montana in season opener
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As the Duquesne and Montana basketball teams prepared for their season openers Tuesday, most oddsmakers favored the host Dukes by a slight margin, with Caesars Sportsbook installing them as a 3.5-point favorite.
The gambling gurus were way off, with the final score at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse reading 91-63 in favor of Duquesne.
The new-look Dukes, featuring a restocked roster of five transfers and five true freshmen, fired on all cylinders, quickly building a first-half lead they would not relinquish.
The Dukes’ 64.4% shooting percentage (38 of 59) was the best in the Keith Dambrot era, which is entering its sixth season.
Dae Dae Grant, a transfer from Miami (Ohio), was electric, scoring 25 points on 8-for-8 shooting, including 6 for 6 on 3-point tries.
“He just shot open shots,” Dambrot said. “With his stroke, when he shoots open shots, they’re going in. … That’s how it’s been every day in practice — if he’s open, he’s making it.”
Bowling Green transfer Joe Reece scored 12 points, with JUCO guard transfer Quincy McGriff adding 10. Freshman forward Matus Hronsky also hit double-digits with 13 points, meaning the four top scorers were all first-year players with the team.
All things considered, Tuesday’s result should help erase any lingering feelings from last season, when the Dukes went 6-24 and finished last in the Atlantic 10.
“All week we’ve been rehearsing and preparing for this game,” Reece said. “Not talking about last year, but we’re trying to change and do our best to start off strong.”
Speculation abounded late in the preseason when Duquesne lost its projected starting point guard, Tevin Brewer, because of post-appendicitis complications.
Dambrot opted to start the 6-foot-6 McGriff at the point, with true freshman Kareem Rozier also seeing minutes there.
McGriff performed admirably, leading all Dukes players with 29 minutes and going 4 of 9 from the floor.
Things were back and forth early, but by the under-12 media timeout in the first half, Duquesne had snatched all the momentum.
Sparked by Reece and Grant, the Dukes went on a 14-0 run to take a 28-12 lead with 11:18 left before halftime and never looked back.
After 20 minutes, the Dukes held a 45-19 lead, having outscored Montana, 31-7, in the last 13 minutes of the first half.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, a team picked by league media and coaches to finish third in the Big Sky Conference this year, there was little reprieve as the second half got underway.
A 3-pointer by McGriff and a jumper by Reece pushed the lead over 30 less than three minutes into the final half, and while Montana star forward Josh Gannan eventually put up 19 points, most came with the game well out of hand.
In the first half, he managed just four points, all of which came on free throws. He shot 0 of 6 from the floor.
By game’s end, Dambrot used 11 players, with all but Rozier, whose time was limited due to a cramp, managing to score at least three points.
With Duquesne bringing in as many new faces as it did this year, team cohesion was going to be an early-season question mark. But at least through one game, chemistry did not seem to be an issue.
“Our jell and our connection is really tight and has a strong hold within our brotherhood,” Grant said. “… If we tend to find that niche, continue to just grow and continue to jell, we’re going to be all right.”
Duquesne must quickly turn its attention to its next opponent, as the Dukes hit the road for a matchup with No. 4 Kentucky at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We know they have good players, but we’ve just got to go in there and figure out a way to win, whatever that may be,” Dambrot said. “ … We have to find their puncture point. It’s a good opportunity.”