Duquesne clinches first NCAA Tournament berth in 47 years with win over VCU in A-10 championship game

Duquesne coloured crimson, white and blue streamers fell from the rafters at Barclays Center with the Dukes important through 15 within the Atlantic 10 Event championship contest, their first NCAA Event bid in 47 years in succeed in.

Sickness used to be, there used to be nonetheless about 18 mins left to play games.

Jimmy Clark III, Dae Dae Grant, schoolmaster Keith Dambrot and Duquesne in the end were given the the whole postgame birthday celebration — with a couple of much less streamers — beating fifth-seeded VCU 57-51 on Sunday to earn their first ask over to March Insanity since 1977.

For the sixth-seeded Dukes (24-11), who began the convention season with a five-game dropping streak, the dried manner is the one manner they know.

“This isn’t a situation we haven’t been in before so we knew exactly what to do,” stated Clark, who scored 9 issues and made 4 separate throws within the ultimate 21 seconds left to support seal the name.

The Dukes led through 14 on the part, however bringing house that long-awaited NCAA bid used to be a effort. Duquesne scored solely 21 issues and shot 5 for 29 from the ground in the second one part, however the little Catholic college in Pittsburgh will head into the Bulky Dance with an eight-game profitable streak.

“We’ve all year won at the defensive end,” Dambrot stated. “We’ve had some monstrosities on offense.”

The 65-year-old Dambrot, who coached LeBron James for 2 years in highschool, and the Dukes matched a program document for victories poised in 1953-54, when Dambrot’s father, Sid, performed for Duquesne.

The extreme past Duquesne gained the A-10 and going to the NCAA Event, pace NBA All-Famous person Norm Nixon used to be important the Dukes, who beat Villanova within the convention name contest.

Dambrot, left the College of Akron in 2017 — the place he took the Zips to the NCAA Event thrice in 13 years —- to break in a Duquesne program that used to be akin to his middle however didn’t have a lot historical past of luck.

“I knew it was going to be hard, especially when we’re building off of not much tradition,’ Dambrot said.

Joe Bamisile led VCU (22-13), which was trying to repeat as A-10 tournament champs, with 20 points.

“Two groups competing for a championship, it doesn’t glance nice-looking,” Bamisile said. “It used to be simply an unpleasant contest on either side.”

Upcoming Clark’s separate throws with 21 2nd left to made it a five-point contest, Fousseyni Drame made two to place the Dukes up 55-48.

A protracted 3 from Zeb Jackson with 9.9 left gave VCU a gleam of hope. The Rams fouled Jakub Necas because the Dukes struggled to inbound the ball, however he ignored each photographs.

Clark made two more from the line with 1.9 left and finally Duquesne fans could celebrate for real.

Grant led the Dukes with 10 points, all in the first half, and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

The Dukes were up 15 early in the second half and the ball was in play when the game had to be stopped because of the falling streamers. Most landed on press row courtside — CBS play-by-play man Kevin Harlan had to pull some off himself and partner Dan Bonner — with a few making it onto the floor. The game was delayed about three minutes for clean up.

A-10 officials said the streamers and confetti used for the postgame celebration are red, white and blue no matter which team wins, to match the conference logo. A technical glitched cause them to fall too early, they said.

Maybe the premature celebration tempted fate, because the Dukes went the next seven minutes without scoring. They started the second half 1 for 15 from the field.

Dambrot, who admitted he is a superstitious former baseball player, said he was unfazed by the potential jinx.

“I used to be essentially the most at ease I’ve ever been,” Dambrot said. “I simply attempted to experience it for the primary past in my occasion.”

It has been challenging season away from the court for Dambrot, whose wife, Donna, has been battling breast cancer.

Keith Dambrot said the four tournament games at Barclays were the first Donna has attended all season.

Duquesne finally found some offense to hold off the Rams, and Necas made a 3 from the wing with 4:35 left to push the lead to 49-41.

The Rams made one more push.

Jackson made a 3-pointer for the Rams with 2:12 remaining to cut Duquesne’s lead to 49-46 and after a forcing a turnover, Bamisile made two free throws to cut it to one with 1:34 left. That was as a close as VCU would get.

“It’s insane so that you can come right here and manufacture historical past,” Clark said.

Duquesne will head to the NCAA Tournament as the only team from Pittsburgh in the field, but probably won’t get to stay home for the first round games being played in their hometown.

Reported by The Associated Press.

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