Duquesne Basketball
Duquesne MBB Unable To Hold Double-Digit Lead; Winning Streak Snapped
The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon with a 77-71 loss to Davidson.
“I thought it was a tough basketball game,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III told the team’s radio broadcast after the game. “We did a great job rebounding the basketball today and could have done a better job in defending one on one. (Reed) Bailey for a stretch of the game, he really dominated. Late in the first half, early in the second half, we struggled defending him one-on-one. From the seven-minute mark of the first half until 15 in the second half, not enough stops.”
Duquesne (6-9/1-1 Atlantic 10) led by as many as 12 points in the first half. This setback is the sixth straight to Davidson. The last Dukes triumph over the Wildcats came Jan. 5, 2020 when the game was played at Robert Morris’s UPMC Events Center.
Jahsean Corbett was a certain bright spot for Duquesne posting a career high 29 points on 12-of-20 shooting. The 29 points are also a season high for any Dukes player.
JAHSEAN REFUSES TO COOL DOWN 🥵 pic.twitter.com/UaYD2E2NQ6
— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) January 4, 2025
The Dukes were able to win the rebounding battle 35-31, bench points 23-13 and owned a 42-28 edge in the paint.
Jakub Necas did not play in this game after suffering a head injury towards the end of the Rhode Island game. Both Chabi Barre and David Dixon went back into the starting lineup, the third different opening five Duquesne has used in as many games.
Davidson (11-4/1-1 A-10) is now 9-0 in home games.
The Wildcats were paced by Bailey’s 22 points and eight rebounds. Zach Laput amassed 17 points, making timely shots down the stretched, while Bobby Durkin put 13 points together.
Durkin scored Davidson’s opening six points in this contest, all from three-point range, but it was a fairly even through the first few minutes.
With Duquesne trailing by two points, Eli Wilborn took his own miss, and his jumper tied the contest, but really got the Dukes off to the races, to the tune of a 17-3 run.
Five different Duquesne players scored in this run as Wilborn was joined by Corbett, Cam Crawford, Maximus Edwards and Matus Hronsky.
just Cam doin’ Cam things#GoDukes | @camcrawford0 pic.twitter.com/REtqOkzseN
— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) January 4, 2025
This run occurred over 4:01 of game action, with Hronsky’s three-point basket off a Corbett assist activating a Davidson timeout.
Duquesne remained in front by 11 points heading into the under-eight media timeout, when Laput sank a three pointer, which was followed by an identical effort from Connor Kochera and Laput finding additional success from beyond the arc, keying a 12-2 run which brought the hosts to within two points, while activating a Dukes timeout in the process.
It would be a one-point advantage for Duquesne but behind baskets from Edwards and Hronsky, the Dukes would hold a 38-34 lead into halftime.
By the first media timeout in the second half, Davidson was back in front, with Laput again making a timely basket, with Bailey also getting a layup, allowing the Wildcats to pull ahead by three points.
When Durkin dropped another three-point basket, Joyce called a timeout.
A 13-0 Davidson run in the second half, allowed the Wildcats to extend their lead to 10 points, before Crawford sank a three of his own.
Duquesne trailed by as many as 11 points in this game with 7:25 left in regulation, but battled back to within two points, this despite Dixon fouling out down the stretch.
That two-point deficit was present multiple times, but once again Laput remained steady. Duquesne would not get any closer than four points as Davidson handled its free throws.
“I’m going to applaud our guy’s efforts… we had 42 points in the paint,” explained Joyce. “This is a basketball game, and when you’re on the road, you pay for some of the mistakes you make. You just have to be a little bit better. It was a tough game, congratulations to Davidson, I thought they played well down the stretch.”
Duquesne will return home to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a Wednesday evening contest against Saint Joseph’s. The contest will tip off at 7 p.m. and be carried by both ESPN+ as well as SportsNet Pittsburgh.
