Keith Dambrot after Duquesne's upset of BYU: 'They just don't want me to retire'
The final game of Duquesne’s season will be the last game of the career of Keith Dambrot. That wasn’t today, though, after the Dukes pulled the first upset of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed against No. 6 BYU in the East Region.
Dambrot spoke on the court postgame about what the latest miraculous, 71-67 win for them felt like. He started by joking that his team just won’t let him ride off into the sunset because they just keep winning and extending his time on the sidelines.
“They just don’t want me to retire I guess,” Dambrot said. “I’m trying to get to the promised land and they’re making me keep coaching.”
Duquesne led for all but 31 seconds over BYU in Omaha on Thursday. They held the Cougars to almost 15 points off of their average by keeping them to under 40% from the field at 38.6% and under 35% from three at 33.3%. Jaxson Robinson came off the bench for 25 on quality efficiency but, besides that, it was a quiet day for the Cougs’ offense.
That defensive effort was at the center of this upset according to Dambrot.
“Our guys did exactly what they had to do in order to win the game,” said Dambrot. “Keep the score down in. They’re a load on offense so it was a battle all game long.”
Dae Dae Grant led the way for the Dukes against BYU with 19 points. Jakub Necas and Jimmy Clark III combined for 23 as well as six players scored seven or more points. As a team, they combined to shoot 46.4% from the field.
This four-point victory was good for the ninth-straight win for Duquesne. After falling to 16-11, they’ve gone undefeated for the past 22 days. They’d won their last four in the regular season and their four in the A-10 Tournament. Now, today in the NCAA Tournament, they secured their first win in March Madness in a half century.
It was announced before the tournament that this stretch would be Dambrot’s last in his career. After 40 years, he will retire from the profession at the conclusion of Duquesne’s run.
It might come as a surprise to some to see a turnaround like this, even if it is the time of year where things like this happens. Dambrot isn’t shocked at all, though, because of what his players have accomplished and put together since the calendar turned to this month.
“We played really good basketball over the last six weeks,” said Dambrot. “We just found a little niche. They’ve been selfless, they believe in each other, and they’re just a good brotherhood.”