Pittsburgh—The Duquesne Dukes picked up their first win of the season Monday night against James Madison, in what Coach Ferry said was “truly a program win” for his young team. The Dukes were forced to go without star shooting guard Sean Johnson for the last several minutes of regulation and the entire overtime period due to cramps. But the younger players, namely Derrick Colter and Quevyn Winters were brilliant in the late stages of the game.
“We showed a lot of growth in tonight’s game,” a pleased and relieved Coach Ferry added afterwards.
Duquesne came out of the gate shooting strong in their first game of the 2012 Progressive Legends Classic sub-regional. The Dukes jumped out to a 12-4 advantage in the first three and a half minutes of the game and remained on top of their opponents for most of the half. Sean Johnson helped keep the momentum on the Dukes’ side with 15 first-half points. Johnson wound up leading his team in scoring with 20 even though he had to leave the game early. P.J. Torres also had a solid first half, stepping in for Colter at point guard. He finished the game with 12 points in just twelve minutes of play.
The Dukes had some trouble stopping James Madison’s Rayshawn Goines in the paint, especially after the 1st half. The senior forward recorded a huge double-double that included 20 points and 15 rebounds. 15 of his points came in the 2nd half and overtime period. Freshman guard Andre Nation was another impact player for the visiting Dukes, posting 19 points.
The intensity picked up tremendously after halftime. Every time Duquesne got down, they showed their resiliency. The final two periods of play featured seven lead changes, including a 61-67 James Madison lead with 8:13 left in regulation. From there, Winters single-handedly scored the next ten points, giving Duquesne a 71-69 lead with 5:24 to play.
Duquesne’s Martins Abele took a technical foul late in the 2nd half when the 7-1 center slammed the basketball down in excitement after Winters converted an and-one layup. After the technical, JMU went on a 7-2 run in the final three minutes of the game to force an overtime period.
Overtime proved to be a nail-biter for Ferry’s squad. The Dukes came out flat with three turnovers in the first two minutes. But without Johnson, it was really up to the young guys to get it done—and get it done they did. Jeremiah Jones, Pantophlet, and Colter all hit key field goals in the final minutes of the game and had the crowd on its feet as they were able to regain the momentum for Duquesne and retake the lead.
Colter had a chance to put the game out of reach when he was fouled with :23 left and his team up by two, but both of his free throws were off the mark. Andre Nation almost won it for James Madison with an open 3-pointer at the other end of the floor in the closing seconds, but his shot couldn’t find the net.
“Yeah we’re freshmen and all, but we can still make plays,” Colter asserted after the game. To all the fans present, that much was certain. But perhaps more importantly, this hard-fought, back-and-forth overtime game forced a young Duquesne basketball team to grow up a lot faster.
Note: Derrick Colter finished with 12 points and 7 assists. Jerry Jones also had 12 points and 5 assists. Johnson’s injury appears to be purely cramp-related and should not keep him out of the game on Tuesday.
