Gritty Dukes run win streak to three
Bonnies jump to early advantage, but Duquesne defense responds
Duquesne extended its win streak to three in a gritty 56-54 victory against St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Duquesne (17-8 overall, 75 Atlantic 10) got off to a poor start, shooting 0 for 8 from 3-point range and just 16.7% from the field. St. Bonaventure (13-13, 7-6) jumped out to an 11-3 lead, propelled by Chad Venning and Daryl Banks III, who combined for 9 of the team’s first 11 points.
“In the first half, we just didn’t make anything, but we guarded well enough,” coach KeithDambrot said.
Duquesne found its groove, going on a 12-2 run that gave the Dukes a 15-13 lead, their first of the game. But the Bonnies responded by going on a 14-2 run of their own, putting St. Bonaventure back on top 27-17. The Dukes closed the half on a 10-4 run that kept things close. At the half, St. Bonaventure still led 31-27.
The second half began with three St. Bonaventure turnovers. Duquesne capitalized to tie the game at 31. Joe Reece took a fading jump shot to give the Dukes their first lead since the 8:39 mark of the first period.
Duquesne then held St. Bonaventure scoreless for over four minutes to begin the quarter, but that didn’t last long as the Bonnies tied it backup at 35.
Phenomenal play from freshman Kareem Rozier helpedthe Dukes build a 46-41 lead. Rozier posted a careerhigh in points with 11. The Dukes extended their lead to 51-43, but St. Bonaventure responded by going on a 7-1 run that brought the Bonnies within 52-50.
“What else can you say about Kareem? He just keeps bringing it every night, doesn’t let players bother him,” Dambrot said. “He made two horrible passes and then just rallied himself.”
After a layup and two free throws from Dae Dae Grant, Duquesne was up 56-50 within the final minute. Banks hit a 3-pointer at the other end to make it a threepoint game. The Bonnies got the ball back and Banks was at the line. He made the first, then missed the second. Barry Evans got the rebound and tried to go up for a shot, and it went in. The refs took a second look at it and then waved off the basket, giving Duquesne the narrow victory.
“I felt like we controlled the whole second half, so I would have been really ticked off if we didn’t win the game,”Dambrot said.
“Youknow, we made some boneheaded plays at the end, but we haven’t been in a lot of those games. You look at our team from the beginning of the year to now — we’re pretty good defensively now. They struggled with our pressure, and there wasn’t much full-court pressure. We were just good in the halfcourt. We disrupted them. I don’t know if he’s ever had a team that made 25 turnovers in a game, so they were fortunateto be there at the end. We were fortunate to win by a split second.”
Key stat
St. Bonaventure had 25 turnoversand Duquesne converted off of them. The Dukes scored 35 points off of turnovers, the most in the Dambrotera.
Duquesne also had 15 steals, two steals shy of the schoolrecord.
“This is kind of a weird dynamic because they were 22 for 44, but they turn it over 25 times, so it’s a hard judge,” Dambrot said. “I’ll take the 25 turnovers.”
Quotable
The Duquesne win streak comes at a good time, as A-10 play is winding down. The Dukes were selected to finish last in the A-10 preseason poll, yet now find themselves in a position to potentially get a double bye when the A-10 tournamentstarts.
“I feel that we’re reaching our peak,” Rozier said. “I think that it starts with how we’ve been competing in practice, bringing it every day. But we’ve been brilliant, and it showed today. Man, it feels great..”
Up next
Duquesne finishes off its home game stretch by facing SaintJoseph’s on Wednesday night. The Dukes have already defeated the Hawks once this season, 92-80.