Duquesne Battles St. Louis But Falls, 90-85

The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team conceded season highs in overall points and points in the paint, falling on the road 90-85 to Saint Louis Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena

Duquesne (18-9/8-6 Atlantic 10) saw Dae Dae Grant score 22 points. Joe Reece contributed 15 points, while both Tevin Brewer and Jimmy Clark III each had 12 points. R.J. Gunn finished his evening with 11 points.

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The Dukes conceded 70 points in the paint but were 15-from-29 on three-point shots.

Saint Louis (18-9/10-4 A-10) was led by Gibson Jimerson’s season high 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Jimerson, who has been known for his three-point shot throughout his career, was contained to one triple, the lone deep look SLU buried on the evening.

Francis Okoro earned a double-double with his 14-point, 16-rebound effort. Yuri Collins nearly matched him with 13 points and nine assists, while Javon Pickett also scored 15 points.

Saint Louis shot 66.7% from the field and won the rebounding battle 36-31.

It was a sloppy start for the Dukes as they dropped the game’s first rebound, uncontested, giving SLU back possession and a couple of possessions later lost control of the ball with token pressure applied.

Saint Louis scored the game’s opening five points before Duquesne strung together shots.

When Grant buried a three-point basket, to take a 20-14 lead, Billikens coach Travis Ford called a timeout.

In a feat similar to the Richmond contest, Duquesne sank its first seven shots from long range as the Dukes enjoyed a 20-4 run, building an advantage which reached as many as 15 points after Grant once again converted from deep.

Saint Louis was 0-for-4 from deep, but made up for that by scoring 38 points in the paint, a +26 advantage in the first half.

The lone other point scored was Collins from the free-throw line, allowing Duquesne to hold onto a 41-39 lead come halftime.

With SLU trying to cut down on the Dukes three-point opportunities, Brewer did just that to open the second half, before the hosts went on a 13-3 run, taking a five-point advantage.

Duquesne would briefly tie the game, before Saint Louis jumped back in front. A flagrant one helped the Dukes cause as Quincy McGriff took a shot to his eye and his contact came out, as the Billikens nailed a triple.

Two consecutive misses from deep, allowed SLU to go on the run and again make the game two possessions, stretching it up to seven points, before Clark connected on deep and Duquesne spent a timeout.

SLU would quickly regain a seven-point cushion on a backdoor cut heading into the under-8 media timeout.

An 11-0 Billikens run over 2:11 appeared to be the final nail in Duquesne’s coffin as they lead by 14 points, but that was not to be.

After knocking at the door, the Dukes twice cut the game to three points, but Collins had an answer both times.

An errant alley oop attempt gave Duquesne a chance to remain in the contest, but Clark missed both free throws and SLU closed the game out.

A win for Duquesne would have placed the Dukes in the top-four and in a position to secure a double bye in the Atlantic 10 Championship as Fordham fell to VCU earlier in the day.

With four games remaining, the Dukes stand a legitimate chance of achieving this goal.

Duquesne next travels to La Salle, facing the Explorers Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a contest which features two 500-win coaches, as Fran Dunphy now coaches the Philadelphia-based program.