Duquesne Bounces Back Against Saint Joseph’s, 66-56

The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team shook off its setback at Dayton, bouncing back with a 66-56 victory over Saint Joseph’s Saturday afternoon at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Duquesne (15-10/5-7 Atlantic 10) had David Dixon amass 17 points, while grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds, good for his first career double-double. Jimmy Clark III also recorded 15 points. Jakub Necas contributed a personal best 10 points and Jake DiMichele earned a career high nine rebounds.

Duquesne basketball on Pittsburgh Sports Now is sponsored by The Summit Academy: setting young men on the path to a better future.

Dae Dae Grant rounded out Saturday’s effort with 11 points, extending his streak to 31 consecutive free throws made. The Dukes also asserted themselves in the paint by a 28-16 margin.

Saint Joseph’s (16-10/6-7 A-10) saw Cameron Brown lead all scorers with his 18 points. Lynn Greer III’s return to the court resulted in 11 points, seven of which came from the free throw line. Rasheer Fleming brought down 12 rebounds.

This game got off to a slow start for the Dukes as Saint Joseph’s led early connecting twice from three-point range prior to the first media timeout of the half.

Tre Williams had multiple offensive post attempts, but his shots were unable to find the mark as Fousseyni Drame substituted in his stead.

Duquesne ratcheted up its defensive intensity to take back control of the half and scored 10 of its first 14 points from the paint.

Necas provided a spark for the Dukes, nailing his first three-point shot since Nov. 17, keying an 8-0 run which activated a Hawks timeout.

Coming out of that timeout, Necas continued to make an impact with a block, but Duquesne went scoreless for 5:05, allowing Saint Joseph’s to get to within a single point.

Duquesne snapped its drought when Andrei Savrasov drained a three-point basket. In the latter stages of the half, Clark was pressured into a double team, but found a cutting DiMichele who buried a reverse layup.

At half’s end, DiMichele came away with a rebound and hit Clark with an outlet pass. Clark did the rest, beating the buzzer with a layup, granting the Dukes a 31-23 halftime lead.

Dixon raised his presence in the second half with a make and then dunked home a Clark miss on an initial shot attempt as part of a series of highlight reel plays for both sides.

Later on in the half, Dixon had a layup, but a Saint Joseph’s player was ready to draw a charge. Dixon anticipated the play and found DiMichele open for a triple, placing the Dukes in front by double digits for the second time in the afternoon.

Necas would later connect from distance for a second time, this after coming into the game with four all season. On Duquesne’s next trip down the court, Dixon found space from three-point range and would be successful in burying his second trifecta of the season as the Hawks called their third timeout, down 15.

As play continued, Necas was given a baseball pass down the court and was fouled hard. After review, the whistle was upgraded to a flagrant one, allowing the Czech to achieve his career high point total.

Duquesne will remain home, hosting Saint Louis Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in a game carried by ESPN+.