Dec. 3, 2011

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PITTSBURGH - Sean Johnson scored a career-high 25 points and B.J. Monteiro added 18 to lead Duquesne to a 77-67 win over Tennessee Tech at the Palumbo Center.

The Dukes shot 50 percent in upping their record to 5-3. Tennessee Tech, which shot 40 percent, fell to 3-4.

Eric Evans and T.J. McConnell, who had five assists each, also reached double digits with 11 and 10 points respectively for Duquesne.

Andre Marhold added a career-best 11 rebounds as the Dukes outrebounded the Golden Eagles 37-33.

It was just the second time in eight games that the DU, which entered the game -12.0 in rebound margin, outboarded their opponent.

Kevin Murphy led Tennessee Tech with 18 points. Zach Bailey and Jud Dillard added 14 each for the Golden Eagles.

"I wasn't excited about the way we executed throughout both offensively and defensively," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "I felt we made the plays we needed to make down the stretch."

Tennessee Tech missed its first seven shots in falling behind 7-0. TTU then hit five in a row to tie it at 14-14 on a pair of Dillard free throws with 11:22 left. Chase Dunn and Murphy hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 22-20 before Johnson converted a three-point play, Monteiro hit a 3-pointer and Andre Marhold dunked off and inbounds pass to give the Dukes their largest lead of the half at 30-20.

The double-digit lead was short-lived as the Golden Eagles converted back-to-back DU turnovers into baskets to cut it to 32-28 at the half.

Duquesne opened the second half with a McConnell drive, four points from Johnson and buckets by Evans and Marhold - off a no-look pass from Evans - to go up 42-30. Johnson added two more free throws and McConnell scored off an Evans dish to complete a 14-2 run.

"I thought we had a greater sense of urgency on the defensive end," said Everhart of the second-half start. "When we play with that kind of urgency, I think we're a pretty good team."

Duquesne built its lead to 17 before TTU cut it to eight on a Dillard bucket with 5:26 to go. The Dukes answered with an 8-2 run ignited by a McConnell 3-pointer. to take a 68-53 lead.

The Golden Eagles came back again to make it 70-62 on a Bailey 3-pointer with just over two minutes left. TTU cut it to eight again with 53 seconds on the clock before Evans hit a pair of free throws for the final margin.

Duquesne completes a stretch of three games in seven days when it hosts Robert Morris at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the Palumbo Center.

NOTES

• The Dukes are now 25-6 in non-conference home games over the past five seasons, including a 25-5 mark at Palumbo Center.

• Johnson, who was 8-of-12 from the field, eclipsed his previous career high of 24 set vs. Akron on Nov. 19 ... he also extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 11 dating back to last season ... Johnson has scored at least 13 points in every game in 2011-12.

• Andre Marhold's 11 rebounds were five more than his previous career high set vs. Bluefield State in last year's opener.

• Duquesne, which entered the game being outrebounded by 12.0 per game, outrebounded the Golden Eagles 37-33 ... it was the second time this season DU has outrebounded its opponent.

• Monteiro scored 14 of his 18 in the first half.

• Duquesne has shot 50 percent or better in five of its past six games.

• Freshman guard P.J. Torres, who is expected to be out for a week with a broken toe, was not in uniform.