PITTSBURGH — The Duquesne Dukes (16-10, 8-5 A-10) may have very well played their worst game of the season against the La Salle Explorers (7-19, 3-10) on Wednesday night. But, there is a trait this team possesses that cannot be overlooked: their resilience.
Tarence Guinyard played hero in the final 6.2 seconds and took a missed free throw the length of the court for a layup plus the contact to give the Dukes the final lead of the game and a 62-61 triumph over the Explorers at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Guinyard ended with 11 points, and eight of those came in the final half of play. But obviously, none were bigger than the two he scored with 0.3 remaining.
It’s worth mentioning that Duquesne did have a timeout to use, but Dukes head coach Dru Joyce III opted to “shut up” and let his guys run.
“As I see the play unfold and them ( La Salle) not really find their way in transition and the ball in our most dynamic playmaker’s hands, the fastest guy on the court, I said, ‘we’ll see what we wind up with,'” Joyce said.
“I’m glad I used my eyes and didn’t just jump out there and call a timeout because I probably would have destroyed something that was good.”
Duquesne crawled out of a 60-54 hole with 2:35 to go thanks to two free throws from Dave Dixon, and layups from Jakub Necas and Guinyard (subtle foreshadowing). With the score tied and 25 seconds to go, Rob Dockery drove to the lane and created contact, drawing the foul on Necas. As Necas walked back to the bench (fouled out), Dockery split the pair of free throws, and that’s when Guinyard cultivated the magic.
La Salle’s resilience and mental fortitude was tested very early on, as their leading scorer Jaeden Marshall went down with 10:27 left in the first half. He was taken off the court with an air cast on his left leg. The Duquesne faithful gave a standing ovation as he walked off. However, despite the setback, the Explorers dug deep to trim a 13 point deficit to just four at halftime.
The Dukes struggled mightily from three-point range, shooting a lowly 3/20. Brandon Hall had two of the threes, with Guinyard sprinkling in the third triple. Despite the misses, being out-rebounded and the 18 turnovers, Joyce’s men found a way.
“Kind of a survive and advance type feel, where you play one of those ugly games,” Joyce admitted. “It’s hard to look at those numbers and think about how we could have almost expanded upon the lead, but when you take a look at those numbers, that’ll tell you why, right?
I tell the team all the time, man, don’t watch the scoreboard. The scoreboard will trick you. It will get to you emotionally. And it’s really about winning possessions.”
The Dukes won enough possessions on Wednesday night, and they will indeed survive and advance to Dayton on Saturday. They will get the chance to make it six straight wins, a feat they have not reached since the 2010-11 conference campaign.
BONUS POINTS
The postgame presser with Dixon and Joyce was probably my personal favorite of not just the year, but my three years covering Duquesne basketball. There is a lot of laughs in there, and the vibes were high after a tight win. I highly recommend checking it out on Pittsburgh Sports Now’s YouTube.
