Duquesne’s Win Streak Reaches 7 With Win Over San Francisco

Mike Lewis is the unquestioned leader of the Duquesne basketball team and last night he showed why he’s also one of the best players in the Atlantic 10 conference.

With his team’s front court in foul trouble, the sophomore guard scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Duquesne to a 67-65 win over San Francisco in a Continental Tire Classic game in Las Vegas.

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The victory was Duquesne’s seventh consecutive win, their longest streak since back in the 2010 season. The win was also the Dukes seventh in the month of December, the most in this month since going 7-1 back in the 1979-80 season.

The last time a Duquesne team win eight games in December was in 1971-72, when they went a perfect 8-0.

Keith Dambrot’s team led and was pretty much in control of the entire game until a late 12-0 second half run gave San Francisco a 56-55 with just under five minutes remaining.

The Dukes took the lead for good on a three-point player for a 64-62 lead with 1:11 left. That was followed by a Kellon Taylor steal leading to an Eric Williams dunk for a four-point cushion.

With under 10 seconds left, Lewis went one of two from the line to give Duquesne a two point lead. San Francisco missed what would have been a game-winning three and the Dukes earned their first road win of the season.

Freshman Eric Williams continued his possible A10 Rookie of the Year season by scoring 15 points and eight rebounds while Tarin Smith chipped in 10 points.

Tonight, Duquesne will go for their 10th win as they take on Southern Illinois (7-5) with a tip-off of 8:30 PM. The game will be televised on FS1.