Coach Jim Ferry isn’t ashamed that his team handed George Mason (8-15, 1-8) their first win as a member of the Atlantic 10 conference. Nor is he going to make any major changes to Duquesne’s lineup after the tough loss. Star forward Ovie Soko backed him up:
“To be honest with you, every single team can beat anyone in this league. They’ll win more games, this isn’t the only win they’re going to get,” he said.
The worst statistic from Saturday afternoon may not lie in the final score, but in the rebounds and turnovers column. These are areas where Duquesne has been strong all year. They have out rebounded most teams they have played, and in the Atlantic 10 that is no small feat. With Colter and Mason heading the guard positions, the Dukes’ assist-to-turnover ratio is one of the best in the conference.
But Saturday, these areas of the game that have been there all season were a bit lacking. George Mason out rebounded Duquesne by a margin of 36-30. Forwards Jalen Jenkins and Erik Copes snagged six boards each, Jenkins getting three on the offensive glass. In the turnover realm, Duquesne posted a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, committing 13 turnovers and 12 assists. That stat wouldn’t be so alarming, if a good amount of the turnovers didn’t come from Soko. “Agent Zero,” who finished with 21 points, also recorded four turnovers.
The problem with rebounding the other day could have come from not rebounding as a unit. Soko cited that his team has to “rebound as five,” because they will never overpower an opponent by sheer size. In individual rebounding, Soko had eight and Mason had six, which nearly amounts to half of the team’s rebounding volume for the day.
L.G. Gill and Isaiah Watkins came off the bench and got 7 and 3 rebounds respectively, but the performance wasn’t nearly strong enough to garner a win. Most of all, the rebounding spread wasn’t quite wide enough, especially when you compare that to George Mason’s. Every player that saw court time for the Patriots got at least one rebound. It was Duquesne’s inability to possess the basketball on the glass that made the game out of reach in the final stages. George Mason had far too many second chance opportunities.
The biggest issue affecting Duquesne’s rebounding performance, however, was probably McKoy’s foul trouble. The junior center got into foul trouble early in the game, prompting Ferry to sit him down in the middle of the first half with two. He only saw 22 minutes throughout the game, well below his average. When he did play, he seemed rattled, tallying just 2 points off of 1 of3 from the floor and getting no rebounds. The latter number may be the most astonishing statistic of the game.
McKoy was mostly a non-factor, both on the glass and on the score sheet, and it wound up hurting the Dukes in the end. Ferry had to rely on his depth, and Gill stepped up a little with seven rebounds and seven points, but no one kept Jenkins and Copes off the glass.
Foul trouble is going to happen in some games, as much as a team tries to avoid it. The game of basketball needs to be played aggressively. What Duquesne needs to learn is that rebounding must be more of a team effort, and they cannot count on two or three players to get the job done every night.
A large portion of the turnovers, just under one third to be exact, came from George Mason converging on Soko throughout the game. Soko took two travel calls and committed two more mistakes down low, most of the time after George Mason doubled up on him.
Four turnovers from a forward is not an ideal number. Soko did fight through some adversity with his opponents and the officials, eventually garnering 21 points – but the Dukes should now be expecting teams to watch Soko closely every time he gets the ball. Soko is a great player, one of the best in the A-10. But when teams know he is one of the players that will beat them given any chance, he is going to be less effective and commit more mistakes. This is especially true if he keeps playing 35 minutes per game. Turnovers haven’t exactly been a dilemma for Duquesne this year, but they can limit them if they spread the ball around a bit more.
Duquesne faces Richmond at the Palumbo Center this Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM.
Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics
