Tristan Huyett | staff writer

Duquesne men’s basketball split a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference games this week against St. Bonaventure and La Salle.

Saturday afternoon’s game saw the Dukes fall 70-63 at St. Bonaventure. Duquesne took a 1-point lead four minutes into the contest when they went up 8-6, which turned out to be their last lead of the game.

The Dukes kept it close for most of the first 20 minutes, with both teams exchanging baskets routinely throughout the half. However, an 18-12 Bonnies run to close out the half had the Dukes trailing 39-30 as the teams entered the locker room.

The Dukes shot a lowly 35% from the field in the first half compared to the Bonnies’ 50%. Both teams were efficient from 3-point range, as the Dukes made 45% of their first-half attempts and Saint Bonaventure saw 44% of their long-range attempts find the bottom of the net.

Coming out of the half, Duquesne saw the deficit grow to double digits on two separate occasions, but an inspired 8-0 flurry left it trailing by a point with five minutes left in the contest.

Duquesne’s offense would once again stagnate in the clutch, as the Bonnies responded to the run with a 9-2 stretch of their own to put them safely ahead for good. The Dukes shot 1-9 from the field and 0-7 from 3 in the final five minutes of the game, despite getting several open scoring opportunities at the basket.

“We had some good looks,” Duquesne Head Coach Dru Joyce III said. “Our guys’ energy and effort were there, we just need to be a little sharper.”

In what has been a common theme this season, Duquesne struggled with efficiency on offense. It shot 36% from the field and 28% from behind the arc versus the Bonnies, although its 70% mark from the free-throw line was better than its 64% mark on the season, which still ranks last in the A-10.

The Dukes did out-rebound the Bonnies 39-24, including a 13-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Tre Dinkins III led the Dukes in scoring with 15 points and added three rebounds, coverting three of his six 3-point attempts.

Joyce was not too down on the team after its lackluster performance in Western New York, especially following a home win vs. Fordham.

“We’ve taken our bumps,” Joyce said. “We’re a young team when it comes to us being together and taking over some of these responsibilities as leaders or big-time playmakers on the road. We’ve been good in situations and we’ve failed in some.”

In the game against La Salle in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, the Dukes came out firing. Duquesne started the contest on a 12-0 run, with 8 points courtesy of Cam Crawford. He finished the half with 11 points, after finishing the game against the Bonnies with just 12. Crawford ended up as the Dukes’ leading scorer with 15 points overall.

After the initial Dukes onslaught, the Explorers battled back. From trailing by a dozen points, the Explorers managed to close the gap to single digits and finished the half trailing just 28-25.

Both teams struggled shooting in the first half, with the Dukes shooting just 39% from the field but holding La Salle to a 24% clip. Duquesne made five of its 15 3-point attempts while La Salle finished the first 20 minutes making three of their 12 shots from downtown.

The Dukes held off the Explorers in the second half, as the 12-point lead shrunk to as few as 1 with less than two minutes to go. However, an Eli Wilborn dunk and late free throws by Crawford, Matúš Hronský and Jakub Necas allowed the Dukes to hold on and secure a much-needed win by a score of 67-62.

Dinkins finished with 12 points and 10 assists, his first double-double of the season. Besides him and Crawford, Wilborn and Necas both scored 10 each.

The Dukes shot 52% from the field and 25% from 3-point land in the game and led for the entire 40 minutes. Both teams finished with 31 rebounds, although the Dukes won the defensive-rebound battle 27-20 with Crawford pacing the Dukes in that category with six.

After the two games this week, the Dukes record sits at 12-16 overall and 7-8 in the A-10. The Dukes are currently tied for seventh in the A-10 standings with George Washington.

Next up for Duquesne is second-place George Mason traveling to the Bluff on Saturday and first-place VCU following it on Tuesday. Duquesne will need upsets fueled by home cooking for a chance at better seeding in the A-10 tournament, which begins on March 12.