Pittsburgh—Duquesne took the court for the second night in a row Tuesday against Summit League opponent North Dakota State.
The visiting Bison, who were picked to finish 2nd in the Summit League this season, came out ready to play. They started the game with a 9-0 run and maintained a double figure lead for most of the game. Their first turnover didn’t come until 3:40 of the opening period.
Duquesne simply didn’t help themselves much throughout the game. In addition to a number of errant passes, they shot 16 for 59 (27.1%) from the floor and just 4 for 22 from 3-point range.
“We shot terrible,” said Sean Johnson after the game. “Our shot selection was poor, and with a good team like that, you can’t make those kind of mistakes.”
Johnson said his cramps felt a little better tonight, but he did indicate that it was still affecting him. “I was gonna play through it no matter what,” Johnson said of his injury situation.
North Dakota State played unselfishly throughout the night. They looked exactly like an experienced team should look, sharing the ball and converting key shots. Three different players reached double figures, and Trayvonn Wright posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Bison returned their top five scorers from last season, along with four starters.
Duquesne found themselves down by a handy margin early on for the first time this season. Ferry tried to respond by calling a half-court trap on defense, along with a switching to a zone. The Dukes were able to cut the lead down to ten with around 3:23 left in the first half, but that was the closest they got.
Andre Marhold electrified the crowd in the opening minutes of the second half with three commanding blocks and five quick points. But the Dukes’ shooting woes continued, and they followed with a scoring drought of over five minutes. By this time, one could not help but get the sense that the game was effectively over.
His team’s selfishness was the main concern for Jim Ferry. “Our parts are not as good as our whole,” Ferry said after the loss. “We have very limited parts, but when we play well together I think we can compete with people.”
“We don’t have anybody on this team that is going to be more talented than anybody we play,” Ferry later added.
Duquesne (1-3) plays Youngstown State (3-2) tomorrow in their final game of the Progressive Legends Classic.
Photo Credit: Duquesne
