Duquesne squares off against Saint Joseph’s Wednesday in their first A-10 road matchup of the season. After seeing a five-game win streak get snapped by LaSalle Sunday afternoon, the Dukes will be looking for their second conference win and fourth road win of the season, after winning three straight on the road over the holidays.
The Dukes suffered several losses early on in the season that may have been avoided if they would have had their whole lineup intact. Both Isaiah Watkins and Micah Mason missed games in the early stages of the season due to injuries – but Duquesne is 4-1 since both players have been back.
Fans saw an unfamiliar sight last game against LaSalle. Senior forward Ovie Soko, who leads the team in scoring, was held to under 20 points for the first time in five games, while Derrick Colter did not score at all in the second half. The Saint Joseph’s Hawks are a solid defensive team, holding opponents to under 70 points per game on average. Duquesne, on the other hand, has not won a game this year when scoring less than 70 points.
The Hawks, on both sides of the floor, will be a tough test for Duquesne. With Phil Martelli at the helm, they are a well-coached team, and it shows in their defense. Their last season was a bit disappointing – as the preseason favorites to win the conference, the Hawks finished just .500 (8-8) in A-10 play.
But this year, their three biggest threats are much more experienced, and much more skilled. In the backcourt, Saint Joseph’s is carried by star senior Langston Galloway, one of the top 3-point shooters in the conference. A four-year starter for Saint Joe’s, Galloway is averaging 17.2 ppg, chalking up double figures in 14 of 15 games this season. Ronald Roberts and Halil Kanacevic round out the Hawks’ front court. Roberts ranks second on the team with 14.6 ppg and 7.4 rebounds per game. His ability to beat an opponent with a ball in his hand, coupled with his rebounding ability, makes him a formidable force. Kanacevic, the team leader in rebounds per game, has the ability to put up monster numbers. He registered 27 points, 14 rebounds and four assists against Drexel this season, and a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds in a loss against #19 UMASS. All three star players are seniors with many years of experience between them playing for the Hawks.
Fortunately, the Dukes’ three main forwards, Soko, McKoy and Watkins all stack up well height-wise with the Hawks’ two big men. 6-11 freshman Darius Lewis will likely (and should) see some time, as will freshman L.G. Gill. If Ferry uses his depth at the forward position to his advantage, Duquesne should match up well with Roberts and Kanacevic.
The chief threat, however, will be Langston Galloway. So far, no Duquesne guard has shown this year that they can consistently put up the numbers Galloway has. Trav’Vaughn White, the leading junior college scorer last season, leads the Duquesne guards in scoring with 12.1 points per game, but has not put up the big numbers with consistency. In his last two outings, against LaSalle and Fordham, White totaled just nine points. And while Colter certainly has the ability to be a Langston Galloway, his role on the team hasn’t been exactly front-and-center this year.
The past two games, it has been guards that have killed the Dukes. For Fordham it was Jon Severe, who shot 7 of 12 and dropped 35 points. In the second half against LaSalle, Tyreek Duren, who was relatively quiet in the first half, was able to impact the game tremendously with his shooting, en route to 23 individual points and a big win for his Explorers. So case and point: Duquesne’s guards better come to play, and not only on offense, but defense too. Langston Galloway’s performance will indicate the outcome for Duquesne on Wednesday night.
Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics
