Adam Lindner | Staff Writer
Dec. 5, 2019
The Duquesne men’s basketball team returned to the hardwood for the first time since Nov. 24 on Wednesday evening, topping the Virginia Military Institute Keydets, 71-58, at La Roche University’s Kerr Fitness Center. Junior center Mike Hughes led the team’s efforts with 23 points — a new career high — and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of action, while sophomore point guard Sincere Carry had 13 points and eight assists.
Despite jumping out to a 7-0 lead to begin the ballgame, Duquesne would trail VMI by as many as 11 points late into the first half. The Dukes would turn the ball over 10 times to go along with a dismal 2-of-13 mark from 3-point range in the game’s first 20 minutes.
Nevertheless, the team kept with a Dambrot Era trend and managed to claw its way back from a sizable deficit to win the game. The victory marked the fourth time this season — and the 12th time since last year — that the team has come back from a double-digit deficit to win.
The triumph bumps the team’s record to 7-0, the program’s best start since 1979-80, and leaves Duquesne as one of the nation’s few remaining unbeaten teams.
The team’s next outing comes on Monday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., when DU will host the Ivy League’s Columbia Lions at La Roche University.
The Columbia game will be Duquesne’s last time playing at La Roche this season, with the team’s remaining “home” games set for either PPG Paints Arena or Robert Morris University’s UPMC Events Center. With a win, the team would move to 8-0 for the first time since the 1971-72 season.
