Duquesne Basketball
Duquesne Drops Heartbreaker to Colorado in Overtime, 84-76
Colorado shot 21.4 percent from behind the arc against Duquesne, but three triples down the stretch were enough for the Buffalos to defeat the Dukes, 84-76, in overtime at the U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam.
Duquesne never trailed Colorado in the game up until overtime. Duquesne made 11 three-pointers compared to Colorado’s four. However, when it mattered most, the Dukes just couldn’t make a clutch shot.
The Dukes are now 0-2 at the Paradise Jam. They lost to Northeastern, 71-55, on Friday.
Through the first 10 minutes of the first half, Duquesne led Colorado, 17-13. Toby Okani, Kevin Easley and Tyson Acuff all had five points each for the Dukes. It was a pretty even pace for both sides for the remainder of the first half and the Dukes went into halftime with a 35-29 lead. Duquesne didn’t trail at any point in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Easley was the leading scorer for the Dukes in the first half with nine points. Easley also had a team-high six rebounds. Leon Ayers III was second in scoring with eight points and nailed two three-pointers. Six Duquesne players had at least five points in the first half.
Both teams shot 34.4 percent from the field in the first half, but Colorado was 0-for-7 on three-point attempts. Duquesne was 5-of-10 (50%) behind the arc. KJ Simpson led the Buffalos in scoring in the first half with seven points.
Duquesne started the second half by going on a 7-0 run, but Colorado managed to trim the Dukes’ lead to 42-41 with 15 minutes remaining in the game. After a scoring drought, Easley nailed a three-pointer to put the Dukes up 45-41, which held off Colorado’s run.
Duquesne led 57-47 with nine minutes left, but Colorado put together an 11-0 run and tied the Dukes at 60-60 with just under five minutes remaining in the game.
With under a minute left and the Dukes holding onto a 66-65 lead, Tre Williams made a huge block on Evan Battey’s layup that would have given Colorado its first lead of the game. Williams then made a big basket on the offensive side to give the Dukes a 68-65 lead with 17.1 remaining. On one last effort for Colorado, Simpson penetrated and kicked the ball out to Tristan da Silva who made a three-pointer to tie the game at 68-68 and force overtime.
Colorado got its first lead of the game in overtime after a three-pointer by Keeshawn Barthelemy to put the Buffalos up 71-68. Following a Battey layup, Easley made a three-pointer to cut Colorado’s lead to 73-71. Colorado enhanced its lead to 78-71 after a three-pointer by Jabari Walker. The Buffalos made just one three-pointer in the game prior to da Silva’s three to send the game to overtime. Thanks to Barthelemy and Walker’s three-pointers coupled with a few defensive stops in overtime, Colorado was able to pull away from the Dukes.
Easley had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Both were team-highs for the Dukes. Williams was second in scoring with 17 points, along with a team-high seven blocks. Ayers had 15 points off the bench and had three triples.
Battey led Colorado with 18 points. The Buffalos had five players with at least 10 points. Colorado shot 40.8 percent from the field, while the Dukes shot at 41.8 percent.
The Dukes play either Brown or Bradley on Monday at the Paradise Jam. The start time of the game is to be announced. The game will be streamed on ESPN 3.
