Soon after Dru Joyce III began his first season as men’s basketball coach at Duquesne, the losses began to pile up.
Everywhere the Dukes played.
But gradually, they’ve begun to master their home-court surroundings, winning four consecutive times and five of their past six outings at cozy UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Now it’s time to learn the secret to road success.
“It is the next step because we haven’t accomplished it yet. So there’s something to being able to win on the road,” Joyce said.
The next opportunity presents itself Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., where Duquesne (7-9, 2-1 Atlantic 10), coming off an 85-81 overtime victory against Saint Joseph’s over the weekend at home, faces surging George Washington (13-3, 2-1), which is unbeaten in nine games at Smith Center.
“When you go on the road, it’s going to be difficult, no matter who you’re facing,” Joyce said. “It’s going to be a tough challenge against a team playing at home (with) a home crowd. There’s just a lot of parity in the league.”
That’s not just Joyce’s take.
“There’s not really a game we can take off. There’s not a night off here,” said first-year Marshall transfer Cam Crawford, a redshirt junior guard who has been a key contributor for the Dukes since being inserted into the starting lineup when teammate Jake DiMichele was sidelined with plantar fasciitis.
Crawford has scored in double figures in five of the past six games, averaging 11.7 points to go with 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals, while shooting 51.1% (24 for 47), including 55.2 (16 for 29) from 3-point range.
Overall, Crawford ranks sixth in the A-10 from behind the arc at 43.2% (19 for 44).
Though Duquesne struggled early as Joyce mixed a handful of transfers with returning veterans in search of a suitable lineup — the Dukes began the year 0-6 — the team has begun to jell.
“We’ve learned a lot about each other just being in these battles together, even if we’re not winning,” Crawford said.
The early home losses were a major test for a group that was trying to recapture the magic of an NCAA Tournament run that had Duquesne’s fan base buzzing as a new season began.
Upcoming Local Events
It got worse when the Dukes hit the road.
“Our first road game at DePaul, that second half wasn’t good,” Joyce said.
Indeed, Duquesne was pounded by the Blue Demons, 84-58, on Nov. 15 in Chicago, getting outscored by 20 points in the second half after trailing by only six at the break.
After another home loss to Milwaukee, a trip to the Cayman Islands Classic followed. After losing the first two games of the event, Duquesne finally got a win, defeating Old Dominion.
While Crawford has held a hot hand of late, three others lead Duquesne in scoring. Canisius transfer Tre Dinkins III leads the list at 11.3 points per game. DiMichele, the former Our Lady of the Sacred Heart star, is next at 10.9 in just seven games. He’s closer to a return, Joyce said, though he is doubtful for Wednesday night’s game.
Jahsean Corbett, the leading active scorer for the Dukes with 1,469 career points (1,303 in three seasons at Chicago State), is third at 10.4.
Junior point guard Kareem Rozier, who began the year in the starting lineup but has flourished lately coming off the bench, was leading the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.75), where he ranked ninth in Division I.
He’s among the returners from the NCAA Tournament and said he understands where Duquesne perhaps needs improvement the most.
“Late in the second half, we haven’t done a good of job finishing games, defensively,” Rozier said. “We’ve got to be better in the last two minutes of the second half.”
Joyce, in part, pointed to injuries, though he was clear there’s no excuse. DiMichele, junior Chabi Barre and sophomore Jakub Necas — all returning players — have been sidelined at different times.
The focus remains on learning the ways of road-game basketball. The surroundings are quite different.
“The road is something you have to embrace, but it’s also a chance for your team to bond and really come together, because it’s you against that whole arena,” Joyce said. “It’s a beautiful thing when you do get a win, but I think there’s been some growth. If you look back at our first true road game at DePaul, it was bad in the second half.
“At Davidson (77-71 loss Jan. 4), we gave ourselves a chance to win down to one minute left in that game, a one-possession game. You’ve just got to try to monitor the growth and understand where your team is. I think we’re at a place now where we’re capable of winning on the road.”
Featured Local Businesses
George Washington, which has won six of its past seven games, is coming off a 75-67 victory at Rhode Island, evening the Revolutionaries’ road record at 2-2.
They’re led by Darren Buchanan Jr. (15.1 ppg), Gerald Drumgoole Jr. (13.9) and 6-foot-11 Rafael Castro (10.3).
A victory at George Washington would be the biggest boost yet for Duquesne, which has won seven of its past 10 games. Aside from that 67-54 decision against Old Dominion on Nov. 26 at a neutral court in George Town, Grand Cayman, the other six wins have come at home.
If the Dukes don’t succeed right away, Joyce insisted, “It’s not the end-all.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be the step that propels us in either direction, because we’ve always got to take it one game at a time. For us, we just want to go into this next game at George Washington and show some improvement and consistent effort, and things will take care of themselves.”