Down by ten at with 10:45 to go in the second half, Duquesne went on an 18-9 run to defeat NJIT in a rare non-conference road matchup in the middle of the Atlantic 10 season.
The Dukes were down by three, 32-29, at halftime after a 1 for 10 shooting performance from 3-point range in the first half. This came after the Duquesne had its best shooting percentage under coach Ferry last Saturday against St. Bonaventure. Nevertheless, Duquesne tied a school record Wednesday night in Newark, NJ for nonconference road wins.
NJIT took its first double-digit lead on a Terrence Smith layup with 13:37 to play in the second half. The Highlanders were on top by a ten point margin when Desmond Ridenour led the crucial 18-9 run that brought the visiting Dukes to within one.
Colter hit back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the run to make the score 59-58 with under four minutes to play. Colter, who added all of his eleven points with under 4:50 to play, came through in the clutch again in Newark.
Micah Mason finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds, and most importantly added a put back to give Duquesne a 64-60 lead with 1:15 to play. Colter and Mason both capitalized on free throw attempts in the final minute.
Ferry went to a press in the second half, and the second year head coach credits this with forcing NJIT into some turnovers. Then, Duquesne was able to play the transition game they know best.
Duquesne’s final shooting percentage was 46 percent, while NJIT shot 48.1 percent on the game. Of Duquesne’s three 3-point field goals, two of them were made by Colter with under four minutes to play in the game. Duquesne out-rebounded their opponents 37-26.
Other notes: Ovie Soko finished with a game-high 25 points, while Dominique McKoy led the team in rebounds with 10.
Duquesne now improves to 4-1 in non-conference road games this year and 8-5 in all non-conference matchups.
Duquesne now heads to Philadelphia, where they will visit LaSalle for the second time this season. The last meeting with LaSalle ended in a 75-56 loss.
Photo Credit: Duquesne Athletics
