Duquesne (12-6, 2-3) edged out St. Bonaventure (12-4, 4-1) 95-88 Saturday night at A.J. Palumbo Center, outrebounding the Bonnies in the effort.
The Dukes totaled 49 rebounds to the Bonnies’ 34 boards and grabbed 35 defensive rebounds to the Bonnies’ 21.
Duquesne took advantage of a 9-2 run with seven minutes to go in the second half before taking control of the game. The Dukes went 15-for-16 in free throws for the remaining five minutes of the game when the Bonnies began fouling to stop the clock.
Senior guard Micah Mason led Duquesne and the court with 27 points. Sophomore guard Jaylen Adams led St. Bonaventure with 22 points. Mason said his team knew the matchup would be challenging.
“[St. Bonaventure was] 4-0 until tonight and we just knew we had to come in and play harder than them,” Mason said. “We had home court advantage. It was a great atmosphere and we took advantage of it.”
Duquesne head coach Jim Ferry praised his team’s defensive efforts.
“I think (the end of the game) shows the growth and the character of the program,” Ferry said. “(Colter) and (Mason) really stepped up and (Gill) stepped up defensively. Like us, they’re a very difficult team to guard. They have weapons that spread you out and I thought we locked in and really focused and did a good job.”
Duquesne assisted on 23 of 32 field goals, led by Colter’s nine. The Dukes shot 52.5 percent on the night.
The Dukes return to action Wednesday when they face VCU (13-5, 5-0) at the Stuart C. Siegel Center at 7 p.m.
Photo credit: Rachel Konieczny
