Duquesne forward Dusan Mahorcic (0) drives on BYU forward Fousseyni Traore (45) in the first half of a first-round tournament game.
Charlie Neibergall | AP photo
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BYU head coach Mark Pope watches as his team bows out in the first round.
John Peterson | AP photo
OMAHA, Neb. — As his players celebrated around him after springing the first big upset of the NCAA Tournament, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot joked that they had refused to let their retiring coach reach “the promised land” with their down-to-the-wire win over BYU.
The promised land is a better description for the second round of the NCAA tourney anyway.
Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and the No. 11 seed Dukes held on after blowing a 14-point lead in a 71-67 victory over the sixth-seeded Cougars on Thursday.
Jakub Necas added 12 points and Jimmy Clark III had 11 for the Atlantic 10 tourney champs, who won four games in four days there just to qualify for their first dance in 47 years, and now have their first win on the NCAA stage since 1969. The Dukes (25-11) will play third-seeded Illinois for a spot in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
“I’m trying to retire,” the 65-year-old Dambrot said, “but if we keep winning games, they’re going to make me an old man.”
The sweat-it-out ending Thursday would age any coach in a hurry.
The Cougars (23-11) trailed 46-32 in the second half before drawing even when Fousseyni Traore, who had struggled all game, slammed down the second of back-to-back baskets to knot the affair at 60-all with 1:45 to go.
Clark was fouled at the other end and made two free throws for Duquesne, and when Traore missed a floater, he got to the line again. Clark only made the first of two foul shots this time but helped tie up a loose ball after the second, and on the next play, the slick guard broke down the defense for a layup and a 65-60 lead with 26.9 seconds left.
Dallin Hall tried to give the Cougars a chance with four free throws and a deep 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds, but Grant — one of the nation’s best foul shooters — was stoic from the line to help send the Dukes into the weekend.
“Bust them brackets, baby! Bust them brackets, baby!” Clark roared as Duquesne headed back to the locker room.
Jaxson Robinson had 25 points for the Cougars, who have lost five straight in the NCAA Tournament, the last four to double-digit seeds. Traore and Spencer Johnson added 11 points apiece, and Hall also finished with 11.
“Just a devastating day for us for sure,” BYU coach Mark Pope said, “and it’s devastating because we lost, devastating because we won’t move on, and most devastating because we won’t get in the gym together again.”
Indeed, the Cougars were bloodied and bumming for most of the game.
Hall took a shot to the face that left him with tissues shoved up his bleeding nostrils in the first half. Richie Saunders got an elbow to the midsection that left him doubled over on the floor. Johnson even lost a shoe while playing defense, and the Dukes took advantage of the opening for a dunk that helped them build a big early lead.
“We made them work for everything they got,” Dambrot said.
Robinson, voted the top backup in the Big 12 this season, tried to keep the Cougars afloat with 12 first-half points, but Necas — a Czech freshman averaging 2.3 a game — countered with eight of his own to help Duquesne take a 38-30 lead at the break.
The pressure of the NCAA Tournament seemed to boil over in the opening minutes of the second half.
The Dukes’ Fousseyni Drame got tied up with the Cougars’ Noah Waterman on a rebound and both went to the floor, where they started to wrestle as official Pat Driscoll leaped between them. Driscoll was shaken up and both players got technical fouls, and that wound up foreshadowing a game that would be a fight all the way to the finish.
“It was a tough game. They’re super physical,” Dambrot said. “The biggest thing is our toughness was on display, and if you’re a tough team both mentally and physically, you have a chance to win.”
GONZAGA 86, McNEESE 65
SALT LAKE CITY — Graham Ike scored 16 points and Anton Watson added 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to power fifth-seeded Gonzaga over No. 12 seed McNeese State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ike made all six of his field goals and all four free throws while grabbing 10 rebounds.
Ben Gregg had 12 points, Nolan Hickman scored 11 and Dusty Stromer finished with 10 for the hot-shooting Bulldogs (26-7), who spoiled McNeese State’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 22 years.
They will face either No. 4 Kansas or 13th-seeded Samford second round of the Midwest Region.
Gonzaga, which shot 52% from the field and 48% from 3-point range, feels right at home in Salt Lake City, playing here more than any other site over the years and posting a 9-3 record.
Christian Shumate and Shahada Wells each scored 19 points for the Cowboys (30-4).
Watson dunked on a fast break to cap a 16-2 run that lifted Gonzaga to a 44-20 lead with 2:58 to play in the first half. McNeese State couldn’t get any closer until the final minutes.
The Bulldogs’ quick passing led to a bevy of wide-open 3s and they made eight of their first 10 from beyond the arc in the first half to put the Cowboys in their biggest hole of the season.
The Cowboys stayed close for a while on sheer grit and hustle but the Bulldogs’ efficiency prevented them from running.
Most McNeese State possessions ended in off-balance jumpers and circus shots. The Cowboys didn’t record their first 3-pointer or assist until Javohn Garcia found DJ Richards Jr. for a long-range shot with 1:24 remaining in the first half.
Located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, McNeese State is a public school with 7,626 students and a sparse record of basketball success beyond producing Hall of Famer Joe Dumars.
Coach Will Wade led LSU back to prominence, including a Sweet Sixteen in 2019, before he was fired in 2022 after a lengthy FBI and NCAA investigation related to recruiting violations.
His Cowboys had the largest scoring margin (18.9) in the country but hadn’t faced a skilled, well-rounded team like the Bulldogs. Gonzaga was McNeese State’s first ranked opponent of the season.
The Bulldogs are hitting their stride, winning 10 of their last 11, with the only blemish a conference tournament loss to fellow NCAA Tournament team Saint Mary’s.
TEXAS 56, COLORADO STATE 44
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Max Abmas and Dylan Disu each scored 12 points, and No. 7 seed Texas held Colorado State to 11 points in the first half en route to a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Longhorns (21-12) will meet the winner of second-seeded Tennessee and No. 15 St. Peter’s on Saturday.
Isaiah Stevens and Joel Scott paced the Rams (25-11) with 10 points each. The Rams shot 29% from the field.
Colorado State, which held Virginia to 14 first-half points in their First Four game on Tuesday, jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the wheels came off.
The Rams missed 18 of their next 19 shots and scored just three points over the final 15 1/2 minutes of the first half. Texas closed the half on a 25-3 run to take a 27-11 lead into the locker room after Abmas hit from downtown at the buzzer.
Colorado State became only the 10th team in tournament history to score 11 points or less in the first half. The last time it happened was in 2008 when UNLV led Kent State 31-10 at halftime in a first-round game.