Duquesne MBB Drops Home Finale

The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team dropped its regular-season home finale 71-62 to VCU Tuesday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

This snaps Duquesne’s three-game winning streak in the series.

“I thought early in the game we were very disruptive,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “We went into halftime and forced nine of the 10 turnovers and took them out of some of their sets, we dictated the terms defensively and defensive rebounded very well. It was our turnovers that hurt us and then we got some bad offensive possessions. Their pressure, we didn’t do a good job getting to our spots and operating within our sets. Just kind of sloppy, nonchalant at times. Against their pressure, you have to be sharp with your movements, passes and routes. That’s what pressure does to you sometimes, it kind of fatigues you, so we have to be better in that regard and drive around the pressure too.”

Duquesne (13-17/8-9 Atlantic 10) was paced by Maximus Edwards who posted 20 points. It was his third game this season with at least 20 points and second consecutive double-digit effort.

“I thought Max did a very good job of bringing the pressure down, getting to his spots and cutting hard. Those things gave him a good rhythm and alleviated the pressure,” stated Joyce. “Other guys I thought were on their heels too much and I thought Max did a good job coming off ball screens and even in the pick and rolls being able to turn the corner and get downhill. We just tried to give him as many opportunities as we could.”

Eli Wilborn added 14 points, while Tre Dinkins III scored 10 points, but on 2-of-12 shooting. Duquesne won the bench battle 30-24.

“If you remember Eli for the first half of the season couldn’t stay on the floor, he was a ball of energy, but everything was a foul,” Joyce recalled. “He was late in his coverages, but he’s maturing, he’s growing. I told him a while back; I called him out and said ‘listen half your performance is because you’re not ready to go in and practice. You’re not treating practice with the right regards and energy and effort. That’s not how it can be.’

“Eli has to be in tune until he catches his rhythm. Sometimes when you become a vet, you understand it a little more, you’re more comfortable, but it was time for him to make the jump in practice and he’s done that, I’ve seen it carry over into games. He’s physical, he’s athletic, he’s strong around the basket, he’s actually a really good passer as well too, so he has a lot of intangibles to his game, I’m just happy that he’s playing with more confidence and he’s continuing to find more success.”

VCU (25-5/15-2 A-10) saw Max Shulga amass 22 points, Zeb Jackson 16 and Joe Bamisile 12 points.

Duquesne went to the post early first on a drive and second with a pass as it scored on the first two possessions in regulation.

VCU answered with a three-point shot but experienced early foul trouble as both Luke Bamgboye and Phillip Russell quickly picked up two fouls prior to the first media timeout.

Despite a faster pace, it was a low-scoring affair evidenced by a 12-10 Duquesne lead eight minutes in.

VCU had a response with an 8-0 run as Shulga was a force for the entire first half. With the Rams advantage at 20-12, the Dukes spent their first timeout.

Edwards made up the difference with an individual 6-0 run to tie the game.

VCU led by as many as 10 points in the first half, with that coming on a Jack Clark three-point shot. Just before that, Kareem Rozier came out of the game. Rozier attempted to save possession for his team but leapt beyond press row. He was shaken up on the play.

This quieted the home crowd into halftime, which VCU led 37-29.

Shulga greeted the second half with a three-point basket off a Russell assist and the lead stretched to 14 points before Duquesne called another timeout.

“I thought we weren’t engaged to start the second half, just affected by every play,” revealed Joyce. “I told the guys to stop dropping their heads. It’s not doing us any good for a guy to make a mistake and the first thing they do drop their head. If you want to drop your head, do me a favor and walk back to the locker room, because it’s doing us no good on the floor. I think we responded to the challenge of the intensity being raised. I thought we went on a big run, made some shots but defensively found our rhythm, we just couldn’t close it any tighter.”

Once again, Edwards was active coming out of the stoppage, this time going on a solo 8-0 run to bring the Dukes within six points as this time it was VCU calling timeout.

Duquesne had additional opportunities to cut into the VCU lead at the free throw line but were unsuccessful. Overall, the Dukes were 9-16 from the free-throw line in the second half.

Instead, VCU stretched its lead to double digits heading into the final media timeout. The Rams completed the game with Jackson gesturing to the fans after a couple of late baskets.

“Our effort was good especially down the stretch, they just had a great night,” concluded Dinkins. “At the end of the day, they just played a better game.”

Duquesne’s regular season finale is Saturday at Saint Louis, a contest scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip.

VIDEOS