Duquesne’s Comeback Effort Comes up Short at St. Bonaventure, 70-63

On Saturday afternoon in Olean, New York, Duquesne faced off against St. Bonaventure in an Atlantic 10 matchup.

The Bonnies jumped out to an early lead on homecoming weekend in front of a jam-packed crowd. They made 13 of their first 24 shots in this one, building a ten-point lead in the first 19 minutes. Duquesne’s Maximus Edwards went up for a floater with 30 seconds to go in the half and was fouled on the way up. He made one of two, cutting the deficit down to nine points.

On the final possession of the half, St. Bonaventure’s Melvin Council Jr. airballed a three-point try. At the break, his Bonnies led 39-30.

Lajae Jones scored 14 points in the first frame for the Bonnies, adding on to Chance Moore’s eight and Noel Brown’s seven points. As a team, St. Bonaventure shot 50% from the field in the first half, while the Dukes struggled to the tune of 35% from the field. Duquesne had the upper hand beyond the arch, though, shooting 46% from three-point range in the half. For the Dukes, Tre Dinkins had ten points, and Cam Crawford had seven in the half. Dru Joyce III’s squad out-rebounded St. Bonaventure 20-13.

Duquesne narrowed the deficit down to just five with 11:55 to go in the second half. However, Jones poured in another three, extending the lead to eight. After, Matus Hronsky knocked down a three of his own to answer.

In the final nine minutes, Council made a late three in the shot clock, extending the Bonnies’ cushion up to nine once again. Minutes later, Crawford splashed in a corner three off a dime from Edwards. On the ensuing possession, Dinkins stepped into a three of his own. draining it, and cutting the lead down to just three, 61-58.

Crawford then made a two pointer after the Dukes earned a stop, and the lead was all the way down to one.

In the final four minutes, Duquesne battled as hard as it could to take over the lead. However, while the Dukes continued to dominate the glass and play solid defense, they just could not buy a bucket, especially from outside. Trailing by four with just over one minute to play, Kareem Rozier dribbled right under the basket, and running out of options, he threw it right into the arms of the Bonnies, who intercepted the pass. However, the Dukes then stole the ball right back.

Edwards drove the ball to the hoop on the next possession, was fouled, and made just one of his two attempts. With 30 seconds to go, Jonah Hinton went 2 for 2 on his trip to the free-throw line for the Bonnies. Down by five, Duquesne took more than 20 seconds off the clock when looking for an open shot. Crawford missed, and the Dukes fouled St. Bonaventure. The game went final, 70-63.

Dinkins led the way with 15 points, while Crawford added 12 and Hronsky had 11. Jahsean Corbett and Jakub Necas did not play due to injury. As a team, Duquesne out-rebounded St. Bonaventure 39 to 24, and 13-2 on the offensive glass. The Dukes shot just 36% from the field and 28% from three-point range in the loss.

With the loss, Duquesne fell to 11-16 (6-9 Atlantic 10). The Dukes will now travel to Philadelphia to take on La Salle on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.