Duquesne (11-6, 1-3) defeated Saint Louis (6-10, 1-3) 81-71 tonight at Palumbo Center in snapping a four-game losing streak and earning its first conference win.
The Dukes held the Billikens to 13 points in the first half, the fewest by a Duquesne opponent since 2009. Tonight marks the 11th consecutive Atlantic 10 road loss for Saint Louis.
Senior guards Derrick Colter and Micah Mason scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, in leading the Dukes. Junior center Darius Lewis and sophomore forward TySean Powell each netted 10.
Senior guard Ash Yacoubou and freshman guard Jermaine Bishop each added 21 points for Saint Louis in leading the court.
Lewis, described by head coach Jim Ferry as a monster on the court, grabbed 7 rebounds, tying his career-high. Lewis said his team came out with a fire to start the game.
“Trying to bounce back from the loss that we had last game I wanted to make sure I brought the defensive intensity today,” Lewis said.
Ferry praised his team for responding after a 91-64 loss to George Washington on Saturday, highlighting the senior leadership of Colter and Mason.
“I thought we got back to being ourselves—playing at our tempo, playing with our quickness,” Ferry said.
Mason said the team’s early lead boosted team morale.
“It was our focus to come out and play hard, defend our home court, play nasty on defense, get on the floor, get stops and tonight we got an early lead,” Mason said. “It helped us build confidence throughout the game.”
Ferry said his team, who is now 8-1 at home, takes a holistic approach to each game.
“It’s about a big picture,” Ferry said. “I’m not going to focus on how we lost four [games] in a row. If you do that, then everyone gets stressed out and that’s not what it’s about. Get ready for the next game and move on.”
Duquesne hosts St. Bonaventure (12-3, 4-0) Saturday at 6 p.m. at Palumbo Center.
Photo by Rachel Konieczny
