Before Mike Bekelja released a corner three-point shot, all four of his Duquesne men’s basketball teammates had a hand up knowing the ball was going through the basket before anyone else.
Indeed the ball did just that as Duquesne equated its entire point total in its first contest against Fordham in the first half of Wednesday night’s 86-62 victory at Rose Hill Gymnasium.
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Fordham went to the three-point shot early and often in the first half with 18 of its 25 shots coming from beyond the arc. Fordham made its only two-point basket in the first half with 1:32 remaining.
The Rams were playing their first game without coach Jeff Neubauer who was fired by Fordham Tuesday afternoon. Mike DePaoli, who was on Fordham’s staff for 11 seasons is serving as interim head coach for the remainder of this season.
Every meeting since the 2018-19 season has been determined by single digits but that was far from the case Wednesday.
This was Duquesne’s largest margin of victory in one of its Atlantic 10 road contests.
Reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Chad Baker led Duquesne (5-6, 4-5 A-10) with a career high 23 points while setting another personal best with seven three-point shots. Baker was a +24 for the game.
Marcus Weathers earned his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds while earning a +23. Michael Hughes set a career-high with six assists but also added a double-double, his fourth of the season and third straight consisting of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hughes also earned a +23. Tyson Acuff added 11 points coming off the bench.
Duquesne also had 25 assists on 32 makes and won the rebounding battle by a 42-27 count. The 25 assists tied a program best under coach Keith Dambrot.
Additionally the Dukes won the second-chance point battle 15-3. The 86 points Duquesne scored were its highest total since Dec. 21, 2019 when it beat Austin Peay as part of the St. Pete Shootout.
Fordham (1-8, 1-8 A-10) was led by Chris Austin’s 19 points. Ty Perry achieved his season high of 13 points and Joel Soriano added a double-double with his 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Duquesne quickly opened the game up 10-3 as Tavian Dunn-Martin converted a three-point play. Fordham cut its deficit to three points before Duquesne started to run away with the game. An 11-0 run ended with Acuff converting an and-one opportunity.
Fordham got its deficit down to eight points but Duquesne closed the half on a 17-5 run leading 48-25 at halftime.
The second half proved to be much of the same for Duquesne which led by as many as 35 points in the final 20 minutes.
As regulation wound down, Dambrot emptied his bench as Noah Buono, Jaylen Cole-Williams and Jett Roesing made their respective Duquesne debuts.
Duquesne will return to LaRoche University’s Kerr Fitness Center when it hosts Saint Joseph’s Saturday night at 7 p.m.
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