Outshot, outrebounded and nearly outplayed down the stretch, Duquesne’s road warriors claimed another victory away from their home court Saturday.
And they did it after losing a big first-half lead.
Jimmie Williams scored 19 points, including a clutch 3-point shot with 14 seconds left after Alex Williams’ 3-pointer gave Duquesne the lead, and the Dukes held off a furious second-half rally by St. Bonaventure for a 78-73 victory at Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y.
It was Duquesne’s fourth consecutive win, sixth in the past eight games and a school-record fourth road victory in a row.
“The connection that has happened on the road with the guys just continuing to work through any situation — not blink, not waver — is something that we’ve even tried to carry into our home games,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “We’ve had to try to find a way to create that atmosphere of, ‘How do we bond together? How do we spend more time?’ That’s something we’re doing even before our home games, to not let everything just be a walk through or about basketball.”
In avenging an earlier home loss to the Bonnies, Duquesne improved its road record to 5-4.
“It’s going well for us,” Joyce said. “I’m super proud of the direction this team is going.”
Tarence Guinyard added 18 points, and Alex Williams contributed 12 off the bench for the Dukes, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 left
Duquesne hasn’t lost since an 87-79 setback to St. Bonaventure on Jan. 28 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Duquesne moved into a tie with Saint Joseph’s for the fourth — and final — position for a double bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with identical records (15-10, 7-5) and five regular-season games remaining.
Saint Joseph’s owns a 97-90 overtime victory over Duquesne on Jan. 7 in the only meeting between the teams. Both return to action Wednesday, the Dukes at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse to play La Salle and Saint Joseph’s in Olean to face St. Bonaventure.
Meanwhile, Joyce is happy for his players and even more excited for their growing success.
“The team is resilient, and our connection is continuing to get stronger in the belief in what it takes to win games,” he said. “We have this understanding now of stay connected on the defensive end and continue to play unselfish. … The wheels are turning on that, and we’re getting a good response from our players.”
Frank Mitchell led St. Bonaventure (14-11, 3-9) with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Dasonte Bowen added 18 points, Cayden Charles chipped in 16 and Darryl Simmons II finished with 11 for the Bonnies, who shot 49.1% compared to Duquesne’s 44.4.
The Dukes, who were 11 for 30 (36.7%) from 3-point range, were outrebounded 41-30 as the 6-foot-8, 270-pound Mitchell, a transfer from Minnesota and the A-10’s leading rebounder, logged his 13th double-double for St. Bonaventure.
In their first meeting, St. Bonaventure shot 66.7% in the second half, including 7 for 11 (63.6%) from beyond the arc, to claim a come-from-behind victory.
The Bonnies nearly pulled it off again this time after trailing at halftime 45-33.
Down 51-41 in the second half, St. Bonaventure closed within 52-49 on a dunk by Andrew Osasuyi. The Bonnies finally got their first lead since early in the game, using a 13-3 run, capped by Mitchell’s basket, to go ahead, 64-63, with 6:10 remaining.
From there, the teams jockeyed for control as the lead changed four times before Duquesne went in front for good, 75-73, on the Alex Williams 3-pointer.
St. Bonaventure’s Joseph Grahovac then misfired on a turnaround jumper, and Alex Williams was there for the Duquesne rebound.
With the Dukes in possession and the clock winding down, Guinyard held the ball near midcourt before passing to Jimmie Williams in the right corner, from where he swished his final 3-pointer to give Duquesne a five-point advantage with 14 ticks remaining.
Simmons’ shot at the other end for St. Bonaventure was off the mark, and Duquesne’s David Dixon corralled the rebound with 3 seconds left.
Guinyard and Jimmie Williams, who rank second and third, respectively, in scoring in the A-10, combined to shoot 13 for 28 overall and 6 for 15 from 3-point range for Duquesne.
Despite leading by as many as 18 points in the first half, Duquesne came away with another victory at a crucial time in the regular season.
And another road win to boot.
“There’s a connection that’s growing and building and there’s a belief, too,” Joyce said. “When you put wins together and you’re doing it the right way: through the process of the standards we try to live by day-to-day and the just strategic things that we try to implement for the game plan. Guys are starting to feel good. They’re realizing, ‘Hey, this system works. We believe in it.’ ”
