St. Bonaventure Pulls Away Late as Duquesne Drops Second Straight, 62-48

Though a competitive contest, the Duquesne men’s basketball team fell short 62-48 against St. Bonaventure Friday night at the Reilly Center.

Duquesne (3-5, 2-4 Atlantic 10) saw Mike Hughes match a season high with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Marcus Weathers also added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Duquesne men's and women's basketball on PSN is sponsored by Moon Golf Club.

Defensively, Duquesne was mostly able to contain a St. Bonaventure team which came in averaging 72.5 points a game.

Kyle Lofton led all scorers totaling 23 of his 28 points in the second half, using his fadeaway to succession. The Bonnies did have their troubles from three-point range shooting 12.5% from deep.

St. Bonaventure (6-1, 4-1 Atlantic 10) also had a good game from Jaren Holmes with his 11 points and eight rebounds while Alejandro Vasquez scored 11 points off the bench.

Hughes was able to open the game providing the offensive spark coach Keith Dambrot has looked for from him. Additionally when Duquesne went on its 5:38 scoreless streak in the first half, he was the first voice in a team timeout.

His aggression was not matched by the team in the first half as it shot 38.5% from the field and did not attempt a free throw.

Duquesne’s defense was able to stand tall holding St. Bonaventure to a 34.6% mark. Duquesne drew charges from multiple players which provided a spark.

Despite the offensive struggles, Duquesne’s deficit was 27-23 at halftime.

St. Bonaventure opened the second half on a 10-4 run which extended its advantage to double digits

Duquesne was able to respond as Chad Baker drained a three-point basket as the Bonnies missed 10 straight field goals and were held scoreless for 3:29 of game action.

Ryan Murphy added a couple of three-point baskets and when Weathers converted a triple of his own, Duquesne’s deficit was cut to one point.

Following Weathers’ make, St. Bonaventure began to catch its second wind offensively as Lofton scored four of Bona’s next six points.

Down by eight points, Duquesne attempted to battle back but converted just one of its final eight field goals and in frustration were assessed a technical foul.

Duquesne’s next contest is Wednesday night against Rhode Island at LaRoche University’s Kerr Fitness Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.