Dukes let 16-point lead slip away against St. Joseph's

The missing presence of B.J. Monteiro hurt the Dukes dearly in their first Atlantic 10 game of the season, an 84-82 overtime loss to St. Joseph's.

The Dukes (9-6) blew a 16-point lead with 9:48 to go, as the Hawks' Langston Galloway and Carl Jones chipped away with endless jumpers. Holding Galloway and Jones to only four and six respectively in the first half, the two exploded for a combined 27 points in the final 20 minutes.

Monteiro is out two to four games after an off-the-court injury sustained at a South Side bar on New Year's Eve. In an extended game with both Andre Marhold and Mamadou Datt burdened with four fouls entering the extra period, the Dukes' limited depth cost them.

C.J. Aiken put the Hawks up for good on a baseline drive and layup to make it 84-82 in the extra period. A desperation 3-point attempt from just beyond the half-court line from Kadeem Pantophlet with a second left didn't drop. Pantophlet's first missed three of the game left the Dukes walking off the court with their heads down after falling to the Hawks in overtime for the second straight time and dropping to 0-1 in the A-10.

The final minutes were eerily similar to those of last year's A-10 tournament quarterfinal game where the Hawks broke down a large Duke lead in the final minutes behind a strong showing from Jones.

"It's kind of reminiscent of our game, almost identical to our game last year with them in the tournament," Everhart said.

In last year's game, McConnell's last second shot missed, and he saw the similarities.

"A missed buzzer beater, you know, I'm kind of getting sick of losing to St. Joe's," said McConnell who scored a career-high 28, and had 19 at the half.

The Dukes were an impressive 7-for-11 from downtown in the first half and made four of six in the second but Pantophlet said it wasn't the team's focus.

"We don't have to make threes to win the game, we just have to get a basket," said Pantophlet, who made three from beyond the arc, and had 11 points.

What the team missed while nailing threes was defense, and continuing what worked to shut down Galloway and Jones in the first half.

"In the first half we forced them to miss a couple and we got out on breaks," Everhart said. "In the second half, two crucial possessions we messed up switches on their ball screens and they just stepped back and they both made very difficult shots."

St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli knew his team could come back if they could score 75 points in regulation, a feat they pulled off using 51 second half points.

"What we needed to do was get the ball to our playmakers," Martelli said.

Down 78-76, a fadeaway jumper from Jones tied it with five seconds left on the clock. A desperation drive from Sean Johnson fell short. Everhart said he wanted the matchup Johnson had against 6-foot-8 Halil Kanacevic, but Johnson got "caught up too far under the rim" on his shot attempt.

The teams entered overtime, where the Hawks' depth overwhelmed Duquesne as Marhold joined Jerry Jones on the bench with five fouls less than a minute in.

The 6-foot-9 center Aiken entered the game averaging 4.2 blocks per game and did his damage against the Dukes tallying nine in 39 minutes also showing up offensively scoring 15 points.

Everhart was disappointed that McConnell's career night was overshadowed by the defeat, and the missing presence of Monteiro.

"We normally play with nine or 10 guys and tonight we had to play a little shorthanded, and it's a shame because T.J. had one of the great games that maybe anybody's ever had here tonight and for us to let that get away, it's a shame," Everhart said.