“I thought that was just a really intense, physical A 10 battle.”
That’s the description that No. 11 Duquesne (12-18, 7-12) head coach Jim Ferry said of his team topping No. 14 Saint Louis (11-21, 3-16) 61-55 Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Ny., in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship. This was the second straight appearance for the Dukes, who snapped a four-game losing streak in the A-10 Championship with the win.
Duquesne junior guard Micah Mason led the court with 19 points, followed by junior guards Jeremiah Jones’ 16 points and Derrick Colter’s 14 points. Also scoring for the Dukes were sophomore forward L.G. Gill with seven points, sophomore center Darius Lewis with three points and senior center Dominique McKoy with two points. Lewis claimed a career-high seven blocks in the effort, the fourth most in an A-10 Championship game.
Duquesne’s 12 blocked shots on the night ties the A-10 Championship record set by UMass in 1990.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Ferry said. “I thought our guys really stayed true to who we are and what we are going to do. [Our team] defended really well, rebounded when we needed it and played really unselfishly. I thought it was a great win for our program.”
Scoring in the double digits for the Billikens was sophomore guard Mike Crawford with 16 points and freshman guards Davell Roby and Marcus Bartley each with 12 points.
Duquesne held Saint Louis to a 30.4 percent shooting effort from the field while shooting 44.2 percent on the night, itself.
“I knew it was going to be tough just the way we matchup with each other,” Ferry said. “I think Jim [Crews] is one of the best coaches in the country, and I knew he was going to have those guys ready to defend, and they really did.”
The Dukes are now 20-34 all-time in their 38 A-10 appearances, including 8-16 in first round games.
Duquesne has now won three of its past four meetings with Saint Louis.
“Saint Louis came out and it was a war from start to finish, and we’re just glad we came out on top tonight,” Mason said.
Ferry commented on his team’s readiness for No. 6 George Washington (20-11, 10-8) and the matchup’s similarity to Saint Louis.
“I think it’s going to be just like this,” Ferry said. “I think it’s going to be a physical battle. Mike [Lonergan] does a great job with that team. They are big, they are physical. The thing about GW is they know who they are and they don’t vary from what they do. They try to pound you on the inside.”
Duquesne will move on to face George Washington tonight at 9 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center.
