Duquesne MBB Wins Thriller
Duquesne Men’s Basketball Coach Dru Joyce III had a timeout at his disposal but down one point in the closing seconds, he saw his point guard Tarence Guinyard charging towards the basket and trusted his player.
Guinyard converted a basket and was fouled with 0.3 second later as the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse erupted. Guinyard with Alex Williams next to him arm in arm waved goodbye towards the La Salle bench.
After the free throw was intentionally missed, Duquesne maintained its three-way tie for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 62-61 victory.
Duquesne, which has now won five consecutive contests is 16-10 overall and 8-5 in the A-10.
Leading the way for the Dukes was David Dixon who compiled a double-double, his second of the season consisting of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Dixon now has set a program record in that this victory is his 74th with Duquesne.
Brandon Hall set a career high with 12 points and Williams matched that output. Guinyard concluded play with 11 points.
Jaden Johnson was La Salle’s lone double digit scorer with 11.
Duquesne was able to get off to a fast start aided by its defensive focus. All of its opening seven points were scored off La Salle turnovers. It would conclude play with 27 such points.
This was a sign of things to come as La Salle did not convert from the field for the first 7:03 of game action.
Duquesne led by as many as 13 points in the first half after John Hugley IV fed Cam Crawford for a layup.
La Salle had an even more troubling situation when leading scorer Jaeden Marshall went down with a lower leg injury which required a cast.
Instead of it being a deterrent, La Salle used this as a rallying point digging in.
Duquesne went 4:55 without a basket which included a pair of free throws for a deadball contact technical foul.
Despite some offensive struggles, Duquesne found some rhythm.
La Salle would have the last laugh beating the buzzer to trail 32-28 at halftime.
Though Duquesne shot 47.4% from the field in the second half, the three-point line was unfriendly to the hosts which were 3-for-20 from beyond the arc.
After Duquesne punched first to begin the final 20 minutes, La Salle’s response evaporated a 13-point deficit as it dictated play for several minutes down the stretch.
Each time Duquesne tried to dictate play, there was a response at the other end of the court.
Down two, Duquesne forced a turnover and appeared poised to find an equalizer but instead turned the ball back over and had an and-one, giving the Explorers the momentum heading into the final media timeout.
Duquesne was able to string stops together when it mattered most and finding timely scores.
Prior to Guinyard’s basket, Jakub Necas fouled out but the score sent the majority of the 2,288 in attendance home happy.
Duquesne remains in fifth place in the A-10 standings having lost the head-to-head matchups both to Dayton and Saint Joseph’s. The Dukes have a chance to avenge one of those setbacks when it faces the Flyers on the road Saturday at 2 p.m.
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