The Dukes led by the game-high scoring of Derrick Colter’s 22 points had an explosive start in the opening minutes of the second half after being down 36-34 at the midway point. With a back-and-forth start to the first half, Saint Joseph was up by 12 after a free throw by Aaron Brown at the 9:45 mark. It would turn out to be Hawk’s largest lead of the game.
With Wednesday’s victory, the Dukes (6-7 1-1 A10) snapped a four game losing streak and evened their A-10 record at 1-1.
The Dukes rallied and inched their way back from a 12-point first half deficit, to a 13-point lead with 2:55 remaining. The Hawks (6-7 0-2 A10) quickly answered back with an eight-point run started by a Brown free throw and made it a four-point game, 69-65 with 56 seconds left. A Colter layup with 45 seconds left gave the Dukes a six-point lead which was cut to three when DeAndre’ Bembry hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds left while being fouled by Micah Mason. Bembry missed the free throw making it a one possession game.
After a timeout, Bembry’s attempt at the game-tying 3-pointer was blocked by Dominique McKoy with 2 seconds left.
“We got down 12 in the first half, and this year when that has happened to us in the past we’ve kind of crumbled … and we didn’t do that,” said Duquesne head coach Jim Ferry. “It got nutty, but I thought our kids still kept their composure to finish the game down the stretch.”
The Dukes shot 50 percent and hit 55 percent of their 3-pointers. The Hawks while having four players scoring double digits hit 41 percent and were held to only 24 percent of their field goals. Bembry with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists led the Hawk’s scoring effort.
Wednesday’s comeback was Duquesne’s third-largest comeback under Ferry. The Dukes rallied from a 15 point deficit to defeat West Virginia in 2012.
The Dukes face Rhode Island at home Saturday in a televised game with tip-off at 1 p.m.
