(Photo Credit: Hunter Hensel)
A hot Duquesne team is a force to be reckoned with. Especially the version of that team that hits 14 threes in a game to blow past rival St. Bonaventure 75-57 on Saturday afternoon in front of a raucous home crowd.
The crowd was into it from the get-go, thanks to the Dukes (9-9, 4-1 A-10) hitting 8 threes in the first half and taking the lead by as many as 14 with 2:36 to go. Maximus Edwards had four of his five 3-pointers in the first half. He had 17 points in the game, leading the Dukes.
The crowd lost it on each of Jakub Necas’ 3 blocks that helped Duquesne maintain the lead throughout the game. He had more blocks than the Bonnies (15-4, 3-3 A-10) did all game (2).
St. Bonaventure received contributions from Melvin Council Jr., who had a game-high 19, and Noel Brown, who had 17. Council had 15 in the first half, but the Dukes’ defense limited him to just 2 in the second.
That’s their glue guy, their engine,” Edwards said. “He got his 15 (in the first half), but I think we did a great job defensively. And that’s just gap control on everyone, the other four people on the floor, being in gaps and being in rotation.”
The newfound success from Edwards has been a pleasant sight for fans, but Dukes Head Coach Dru Joyce III has expected a resurgence.
Over the past two years, he’s been a 35% three-point shooter,” Joyce pointed out. “Shooting that 19%, to me, was not his reality.”
St. Bonaventure cut the lead to 5 just 1:31 into the second half, and it looked like the tide was turning. But Duquesne snapped back thanks to 7 points from Cam Crawford, and their lead was 45-35 heading into the first media timeout. The Bonnies would never get that close again the rest of the day.
This is now the fifth straight win against the Bonnies for the Dukes. They haven’t done this since 2/12/1990-1/18/1992, which only speaks to how even the rivalry has been over time.
Duquesne will get another chance to impress the home crowd, and with a game like this under their belt and this raucous crowd behind them, Joyce’s squad seems ready for another scene like this against Dayton on Tuesday.
“The ‘Duquesne Faithful’ was out today, shout out to them,” Joyce said. “We came a little bit stronger today and our guys appreciate it too. They relish the moment to perform well in front of our fans, and I think they did a tremendous job.”
On the other hand, St. Bonaventure will return home to face George Mason on Tuesday ahead of a nationally televised Friday night game at VCU.
