Duquesne Blows Second Half Lead, Loses 81-73 to Santa Clara in Vegas

Duquesne built a solid advantage in the second half, but poor shooting led to Santa Clara coming back and taking an 81-73 win in Las Vegas Saturday afternoon.

The Dukes (8-3) end their four game winning streak with the loss to the Broncos (9-5), who also get their second ever win over the Dukes in the all-time series. This is also the final Division I matchup for the Dukes in the non-conference, before they start conference play in January.

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Santa Clara started out the game on an 8-0 run and increased their lead to nine points at 14-5 and 19-10 over the first six minutes. Graduate student guard Carlos Marshall Jr. hit two 3-pointers and a layup to lead Santa Clara with eight points, while junior forward Johnny O’Neill provided two 3-pointers himself, as the duo combined for 14 points.

The Dukes responded with four 3-pointers themselves, two from senior guard Dae Dae Grant and one each from guards in sophomore Kareem Rozier and senior Jimmy Clark III, to cut the deficit to 25-22.

Duquesne then went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 31-27. Grant hit a mid-range pull-up, a pull-up from 3-point range and then  converted an and-one opportunity from a layup to get up to 17 points with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.

Santa Clara then scored nine straight points themselves, with junior guard Tyeree Bryan hitting a step-back and converting an and-one opportunity off of a layup to give his team a 36-31 advantage with 1:36 left.

The Dukes went back to shooting from behind the arc, with Grant making one with 42 seconds remaining and then Clark hitting from deep at the buzzer to take a 37-36 lead into halftime.

Both teams traded points to start out the second half, but Duquesne used a 9-0 run to build a 50-42 advantage. Clark scored three points on a free throw and a jumper, while Rozier and Grant each made a 3-point basket.

The Broncos cut the lead back to two points with a 3-pointer from Marshall and junior guard Adama-Alpha Bal converting an and-one opportunity, but the Dukes remained in the lead. Grant continued to excel for the Dukes with a 3-pointer getting him up to 30 points and a 64-56 advantage with nine minutes left.

Duquesne then faltered the rest of the way, shooting 1-for-14 from the field and only 7-for-13 from the foul line. Santa Clara immediately took advantage of this, tying it up at 64 on an 8-0 run, with four points from redshirt first-year guard Jake Ensmiger on a 3-pointer and a free throw.

The Dukes retook the lead with five straight points and three from first-year forward Jakub Necas on a dunk and a free throw. The Broncos used another 8-0 run to earn a 72-69 advantage with two minutes remaining, thanks to Marshall scoring four points on a mid-range jumper and two free throws and both Bal and Ensmiger making both of their free throw attempts.

Grant hit two free throws to cut it two a one-point lead, but Bal would lead Santa Clara, scoring a layup and then three free throws, while Marshall made two free throws himself for the duo to each finish with 19 points and the victory.

Duquesne shot both 8-for-27, 29.6%, from the field and 3-for-15, 20%, from behind the arc in the second half. The 38.9% shooting from the field for Duquesne is their worst mark in a game this season. Santa Clara also shot 8-for-15, 53.9% from behind the arc, the best an opponent has done against Duquesne so far.

Both teams shot an impressive amount of free throws, with Santa Clara making 20-of-28 attempts from the foul line, 71.4%, and Duquesne converting 17-of-26 foul shots, 65.4%.

Grant finished with a career-high 32 points and seven 3-pointers in the loss. He shot 50% from 3-point range and also was a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line.

Clark had 14 points himself, but was not efficient, shooting 4-for-14 from the field, 28.6%, and 3-for-7 from the free throw line.

One positive for the Dukes in the loss came when NC State graduate student transfer forward Dusan Mahorcic made his debut for the team. He played five minutes and made two free throws in his first appearance for the Dukes.

Duquesne will play their final non-conference game against NAIA school Cleary next Saturday Dec. 30, 2:00 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse to close out 2023.