An A-10 schedule comes with a lot of highs and lows. Tonight was a big low for the Duquesne Dukes (16-12, 8-7 A-10) as they shot 35.6% from the field and squandered a chance to improve their seeding for the upcoming A-10 tournament with a 67-56 loss to the Davidson Wildcats at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
The Dukes were behind the 8-ball from the jump, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 27-15 lead in the first 14:08 of the half. The lead eventually stretched to 14 at halftime. Davidson scored at will, but meanwhile it wasn’t the same for Duquesne as they looked really flat all night.
“Sometimes in conference play these games keep coming one after the other,” Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce III said after the game. “The days are starting to look the same. The sun hasn’t risen in Pittsburgh yet. You’re deep into February, it can be monotonous as times.
So it’s almost as much a mental challenge as it is a physical challenge. You’ve already played against a team, you go through scout after scout after scout. You have to get yourself ready to play, and I don’t think our guys had the right mentality and attack in that game, from a mental and physical point of view that was necessary, and we just played from the back in both halves.”
In the second half, the Wildcats were able to extend the lead to as much as 15, with Duquesne’s best shot coming when they cut the lead to 8 with 2:55 to go. A pair of free throws from Devin Brown for the Cats sealed their fate.
Tarence Guinyard led the Dukes, and the Wildcats for that matter, in scoring with 20 points. He, David Dixon (12 points) and Alex Williams (11 points) combined for 43 of Duquesne’s 56 points.
Duquesne needs to find the spark offensively in the last three games as they have shot 39.8% from the field.
“We need to have a little more balance,” Joyce said of the shooting. “There are a few shots we rushed and we still have to move the ball.”
The final three come against Saint Louis, Rhode Island and Richmond. SLU and Rhode Island will be road tests, with the final game of the regular season being senior day for Dixon and the rest of the senior class on Saturday, March 7, when they host the Spiders.
BONUS POINTS
This is the last time (as a student) I’ll bring you a postgame recap from UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. I am extremely grateful to everyone who reads and follows my reporting. I live my dream every day and I can’t wait to progress in this industry.
But on to the A-10 tournament. See you at PPG Paints Arena, just a short walk from the good old Coop :).
#Duquesne #drops #decision #Davidson