Dave Mackall stories, Page 10
New coach Dru Joyce III hopes to reward Duquesne’s support
The last time Duquesne hired a men’s basketball coach from inside its own program, things didn’t turn out well. That was then. This is now. Momentum is on Duquesne’s side. Momentum is in Dru Joyce III’s court. “It’s a different strategy, a different way of doing things,” Duquesne athletic director...
Experienced Latrobe boys volleyball team again among Class 2A contenders
Latrobe opened another boys volleyball season last week still aware of the dismal ending of a year ago that saw the team enter the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs as a top seed but come away disappointed following a pair of season-ending losses to eventual WPIAL champion North Catholic and Mars....
Post-Keith Dambrot era could feature familiar face on sideline for Duquesne
The Keith Dambrot era is a wrap. Duquesne’s outgoing basketball coach already had cast his vote for a successor before his last game Saturday night, but the decision ultimately will come from athletic director Dave Harper. Or will it? “Dave’s the boss,” Dambrot said last week during a news conference...
Illini too much as Duquesne’s magical postseason run comes to an end
Lightning-fast layups. NBA-range 3s. Illinois’ calling card this season has been a relentless approach, and it continued with a vengeance Saturday night against Cinderella hopeful Duquesne. The Dukes were run out of the gym. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 30 points and No. 3 seed Illinois opened the throttle to its...
Members of ’09 Dukes who let NCAA bid slip away enjoying ride with current team
Pittsburgh’s namesake school is usually the big man on campus during March Madness, but this year, the Duquesne Dukes are stealing the show, appearing in their first NCAA Tournament in nearly a half-century. While it hasn’t happened often, it might have 15 years ago had the Dukes gotten the right...
Duquesne not ready for ride to end as it preps for Illinois in NCAA Tournament 2nd round
For a team facing the longest odds among eight underdogs in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament games, Duquesne doesn’t appear bothered. It’s been the Dukes’ calling card all season. “It’s all about staying the course, keeping steady, don’t let anything get you out of whack,” said the Dukes’ David Dixon. “If we...
N.C. State scorches Texas Tech as another double-digit seed wins in Pittsburgh
N.C. State opened the NCAA Tournament where it left off in conference play — with a win. The surprising Wolfpack have been doing that a lot lately. Ben Middlebrooks scored a season-high 21 points, Mohamad Diarra went for 17 points and 12 rebounds, and ACC champion N.C. State used its...
No. 11 Duquesne upsets No. 6 BYU, earns 1st NCAA Tournament win since 1969
Duquesne’s players weren’t ready for their coach to retire just yet, and Thursday, playing in the school’s first NCAA Tournament in 47 years, they showed him why. Now, Keith Dambrot is stuck coaching them again. “If we keep winning games, they’re going to make me an old man,” said the...
Coach Keith Dambrot, Duquesne going for historic win over BYU in NCAA Tournament
This is it for Keith Dambrot. This is the cherry on top for the diminutive Duquesne basketball coach, who is standing tall in his seventh and final season at Duquesne, where he’ll cap an impressive 22-year run as a Division I head coach. He has won 440 games in Division...
Akron amped for chance to upset Creighton in NCAAs at Pittsburgh
The Akron Zips took the short trip to Pittsburgh this week as the Mid-American Conference’s lone representative in the NCAA Tournament, but Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot, their former longtime coach, won’t be there Thursday to watch his old team take on No. 3 seed Creighton in a Midwest Region first-round game...
Intangibles make DiMichele irreplaceable part of Duquesne’s watershed season
By now, you’ve probably caught wind of it a million times, the story of Jake DiMichele, the Duquesne basketball walk-on whose inspired play has helped lead the Dukes back to the NCAA Tournament after years of futility. What’s one more take on this feel-good vibe? It’s universally understood that DiMichele,...
Duquesne stars from yesteryear celebrate Dukes’ return to NCAA Tournament
The voice on the other end of the line was faint, and there was a dinging sound in the background. “Oh, wait, I need to buckle up my seat belt.” It was Penn Hills resident Moe Barr, the Duquesne basketball star from yesteryear, multi-tasking while talking on his cell phone....
After 47 years, Duquesne is headed back to the NCAA Tournament
Mossie Murphy, this one’s for you. After a 47-year wait, the Dukes can go dancing again. “I’m sure he would be up in the aisle dancing,” former Duquesne great Baron “B.B.” Flenory said of Murphy, the late political consultant from Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s most visible basketball booster back when the...
Duquesne tops St. Bonaventure in Atlantic 10 semifinals, 1 win from 1st NCAA berth in 47 years
It was Dae Dae’s day. Riding the hot shooting of Dae Dae Grant, Duquesne surged Saturday into its first Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game appearance in 15 years. The Dukes are one win away from reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 47 years. “We told y’all, ‘Hop...
Greensburg Central Catholic finds footing, blows past Everett into PIAA semifinals
SIDMAN — A three-point halftime lead turned into a rout in a hurry for Greensburg Central Catholic. Once the Centurions girls found their legs in their state quarterfinal Friday night, there was no way of stopping them. “We definitely picked it up in the second half. We beat them by...
Streaking Duquesne surges past No. 24 Dayton in Atlantic 10 quarterfinals
A five-game skid in early January to open Atlantic 10 play was like a New Year’s Day hangover for Duquesne. That seems like such a long time ago for the now red-hot Dukes, who’ve turned their season around in the second half. Behind Jimmy Clark III’s 16 points, including five...
Duquesne beats Saint Louis in emotional A-10 Tournament win for coach Keith Dambrot
There was no denying it. This win was special. Following Duquesne’s 83-73 victory over Saint Louis in a second-round Atlantic 10 Tournament game Wednesday night at Barclays Center in New York, Dukes coach Keith Dambrot spent a great deal of time discussing a number of subjects. It wasn’t until near...
Despite Erica Gribble’s off night, Greensburg C.C. girls roll on in PIAA playoffs
On a playoff night when Greensburg Central Catholic’s leading scorer was held to two points, coach Chris Skatell turned to Erica Gribble’s teammates for an answer. They came through. Mya Morgan scored 15 points, Jayla Peterson added 14 and Avery Davis finished with 12 as WPIAL champion GCC jumped to...
Duquesne’s Drame twins know about improbable runs
There they stood, inside empty UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Drame twins, side-by-side. Quiet. Respectful. Unassuming. Don’t be deceived. These African-born brothers — they hail from Bamako, Mali — are a tenacious pair, anything but usual. They tend to unite in a sort of brotherly love manner. Spotting the Drames, Jimmy...
Duquesne’s Dae Dae Grant, Jimmy Clark III earn Atlantic-10 honors
Duquesne senior guards Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III were named Tuesday to the All-Atlantic 10 second team by a vote of the conference’s 15 head basketball coaches. Clark, who leads the league in steals (74), also earned a spot on the All-A-10 Defensive Team for a second consecutive...
City Game in the NIT? Could happen if Pitt, Duquesne don’t make NCAA Tournament
Remember the City Game? It wasn’t long ago — 2018, to be exact — that Pitt was continuing its dominance over Duquesne in the intracity college basketball series, which is on pause. Neither of the school’s current coaches — Pitt’s Jeff Capel and Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot — has had much...
Duquesne edges George Washington in finale, reaches 20 wins
Of all the things that concerned the Duquesne basketball team Saturday, the one that mattered most was the final score. Sure, that’s important every game — Duquesne edged George Washington, 67-65, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Jimmy Clark III’s two free throws with 2.1 seconds left, giving the Dukes their...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls roll over Bellwood-Antis in PIAA opener
The Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball team did a lot of talking on its home court Friday night, but it had nothing to do with trash. The WPIAL champion Centurions were in sync for a first-round PIAA Class 2A test that resulted in another impressive performance for the state’s second-ranked...
Saint Vincent club hockey team qualifies for national tournament, to delight of former coach
His euphoric acclamation was a clear sign Mike Ziemianski couldn’t have been prouder. The former longtime Saint Vincent coach was overcome with emotion in the moments after the school’s recent club hockey victory over IUP, securing the program’s first College Hockey East playoff championship and third trip to the American...
Bentworth’s Chris Vargo pulls huge upset at 2A wrestling Southwest Regional
ALTOONA — Ask Bentworth senior Chris Vargo what it means to win four regional wrestling championships, and the response might seem surprising. Even after a convincing decision Saturday against a nationally ranked opponent. “Right now, it doesn’t mean (anything),” Vargo said. On a night when Frazier standout Rune Lawrence notched...
