Duquesne can’t overcome early deficit in loss to St. Bonaventure

By: Dave Mackall
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 10:18 PM

They staged their 136th meeting in a men’s basketball series dating to 1920.

St. Bonaventure is Duquesne’s most frequent all-time opponent.

And get this: The average score in the first 135 games? Duquesne 71.6, St. Bonaventure 70.9, a difference of less than a point.

The latest affair Saturday at Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y., was shaping up as yet another nail-biter.

But the homestanding Bonnies took the lead early and kept it for nearly the entire afternoon, holding off Duquesne’s late charge for 70-63 victory to end a five-game losing streak to the Dukes.

“Their ball pressure kind of took us out of some things early on,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “Once we were able to settle in, it was a back-and-forth ball game. There were a couple of plays you would hope go differently, especially on the defensive end.”

Lajae Jones scored 24 points, and Melvin Council Jr. added 20 to lead St. Bonaventure (19-9, 7-9 Atlantic 10).

Chance Moore also hit double figures for the Bonnies with 12 points to surpass 1,000 for his career, which includes previous stops at Arkansas and Missouri State.

It marked the 12th loss of seven points or fewer for Duquesne (11-16, 6-8), which has four regular-season games remaining — two at home and two on the road — beginning Wednesday night at La Salle.

“We’ve taken our bumps with a lot of lessons learned,” Joyce said. “We’re a young team when it comes to us being together and taking over some of these responsibilities as leaders and big-time playmakers on the road. We just have to handle our runs a little bit better.

“We’ve done a good job of it lately at home. We have to be able to transfer it, and it’s a little tougher to do that on the road. We’ve got a couple of more shots on the road, so hopefully we can grab one.”

Tre Dinkins III led the Dukes with 15 points. Cam Crawford added 12 and Matus Hronsky finished with 11 for Duquesne, which was playing without two starters — sophomore forward Jakub Necas, who sat out a second consecutive time with an ankle injury, and senior forward Jahsean Corbett, who was stricken a flu bug.

St. Bonaventure, which lost to Duquesne, 75-57, on Jan. 18 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, enjoyed a 39-30 lead at halftime in the latest meeting. The Bonnies pushed the margin to 44-33 about 1 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Duquesne kept within striking distance the rest of the way, cutting the deficit to 61-60 with 5:02 left on a step-back jumper by Cam Crawford.

It was as close as it got, though, as St. Bonaventure outscored the Dukes, 9-3, while Duquesne shot just 1 for 10 the rest of the way.

“We’ve got to be better defensively in transition, especially when you’re playing on the road,” Joyce said. “You don’t want to give up easy baskets. Too many turnovers in the first half, which allowed them to get out and run.”

St. Bonaventure shot a sizzling 50% (24 for 48) and was 8 for 17 (47.1%) from 3-point range; Duquesne struggled, finishing 20 for 55 (36.4%) overall and 9 for 32 (28.1%) from behind the arc.

“We definitely had some good looks,” Joyce said. “We had made those looks leading up to … You always want to find good possessions, where you’re giving yourself the best shot quality, the best chance that’s possible.”

In the previous meeting — Duquesne’s 18-point victory at home — the Dukes shot 46.7% overall and made 14 of 34 3-pointers (41.2%).

Jones, who shot 8 for 11 for St. Bonaventure, added four rebounds and five steals. Council was 8 for 14 and finished with five rebounds and four assists.

“We kind of let them dictate the game,” Joyce said. “We’ve just got to be tougher in those moments.”

St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt, though pleased with the victory — the Bonnies’ second in a row after three straight losses — appeared more relieved his team put an end to the skid against its longtime rival

“We played hard,” he said. “We didn’t play great all the time, but we played hard. When you have good effort, good things usually happen.”