Men’s basketball wins last exhibition game

In their final tune-up before the regular season, the Duquesne men's basketball team displayed a familiar weakness, but managed a 79-54 victory over Shepherd University (Shepherdstown, W. Va.) at the A.J. Palumbo Center Friday Night.

Duquesne started slow, holding only a four-point lead over their Division II opponent through the game's first five minutes, but went on an 18-3 run capped by point guard Eric Evans' steal and fast-break layup with 5:59 remaining in the first half.

But that would be Duquesne's last basket of the first frame, allowing the scrappy Rams to go on a 9-0 run to cut the Dukes' lead to just 10 at halftime.

The red and blue muddled through the second half's first five minutes, while Shepherd guard Brantley Osbourne's three-pointer cut Duquesne's lead to six with 15 minutes remaining.

Over the next three minutes, the Dukes and Rams would trade baskets until Duquesne caught fire with B.J. Monteiro's layup at 11:37, sparking a 12-0 run over the next 2:50 that increased the Dukes' lead to 61-41.

Evans increased Duquesne's lead to 25 when he muscled his way into the paint, absorbed contact from Shepherd forward Chad Moore and sunk a layup. After making the ensuing free throw to earn the old-fashioned three points, Duquesne's advantage stood at 75-50 with 3:31 remaining.

Although they were able to pull away from the out-classed Rams in the game's last 12 minutes, the Dukes weren't pleased with their ball-control, allowing Shepherd to score 18 points off of 18 Duquesne turnovers.

Coach Ron Everhart said the team will need to improve its decision making on the court if they are going  to be successful in the regular season.

"I don't think we have a guy in the locker room who's pleased with the game tonight," Everhart said. "I thought we turned the ball over a lot more than I hoped."

The team also struggled beyond the arc, going four for 22 from three. Last season, the Dukes' shot an impressive 36 percent from three-point range, and Everhart said they will need to consistently shoot that well when they run into Division I competition.

"If we get each other open shots, we expect each other to make those shots," Everhart said. "I liked the way we passed the ball at times and that will generate open looks, we just have to hit them."

Duquesne also failed at the free-throw line, the way it did a year ago. The Dukes only shot 65.2 percent from the line, including Monteiro hitting only one of his six foul shots.

"We shot the ball a lot from the free-throw line much worse, obviously, than we did the last game [against Millersville]," Everhart said. "B.J. going one for six from the free throw line is going to be a problem if that continues."

Even though the Dukes weren't satisfied with their performance, they did showcase their speed and aggression with 24 fast-break points and 16 steals, one fewer steal than Duquesne's single-game record.

Sophomore point guard T.J. McConnell, who led the team with 7 steals, was unsatisfied with Friday's performance.

"We're definitely fast. We know how to run the floor," McConnell said.  "But I thought we were flat tonight."

Duquesne did share the ball well, racking up 18 assists as a team. Many of the passes seemed to go Sean Johnson's way as the junior guard scored a team-high 17 points, while drilling three of Duquesne's four three-point field goals.

"This is a big role for me," Johnson said. "I'm not trying to shoot that much every game, I'm just trying to find a way to find my teammates open and help them score."

Duquesne will hold its regular season home-opener against Green Bay at the Palumbo Center on Nov. 13, at 1 p.m.