Box Score Feb. 9, 2016 Video
Box Score
DAYTON, OHIO - Charles Cooke scored 22 points and Scoochie Smith added 14 - including a big 3-pointer with 47 seconds left - as No. 19 (AP) Dayton rallied from a 12-point deficit with under six minutes left to defeat Duquesne, 76-74, at UD Arena.
The win was the eighth in a row and 20th of the season for the Flyers (20-3, 10-1), who upped their home Atlantic 10 win streak to 20 games.
Micah Mason hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 27 for Duquesne (15-9, 5-6). Derrick Colter scored 19 of his 21 in the second half for the Dukes who took a 69-57 lead on Mason's final 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key with 5:50 left.
It would be DU's last field goal, as the Flyers closed the game with a 19-5 run.
"We got up 10 late and they really locked in defensively and went after Micah and DC [Colter] and they changed the momentum big time defensively," said Duquesne head coach Jim Ferry. "Their ball-screen defense really tightened up, They were like `alright make somebody else score, not these two guys.' You've got to give them credit. That's why they're such a good team."
Cooke and Smith combined for Dayton's next six points before Kyle Davis, who finished with 15 points, cut the lead to four on a layup with 3:27 to go.
Kyle Davis tied it on a layup following a missed Colter 3-point attempt late in the shot clock, before Smith gave the Flyers the lead for good on his lone 3-pointer of the game from the left side of the top of the key.
On the ensuing possession, Mason ran into a hard Dayton trap off a ball screen 28 feet from the basket and turned it over with 21 seconds left.
Mason cut it to one with a pair of free throws, before Smith hit one-of-two with two seconds to go.
A last-second 75-foot heave by Colter was on line but ricocheted off the backboard as time expired.
Duquesne led for 16:33 of a first half that ended tied 35-35. Mason - who hit all four of his first-half 3-point attempts - scored 13 points in the first 12 minutes as DU took a 28-16 lead. Sam Miller, who entered the game averaging 3.4 ppg., sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a Cooke three-point play to make it a three-point game with 7:00 left. Neither team led by more than four for the remainder of the half.
Dayton opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take its largest lead at 45-37 on a Kyle Davis 3-pointer. The Flyers led by eight with 15 minutes left before the Dukes rallied to take a one-point lead on a Colter three-point play with 11:17 left.
Colter hit a three and Mason added two more, the last of which gave DU its 12-point lead.
"I thought our guys played with great poise from start to finish," said Ferry. "You've got to give credit to Dayton. I said this earlier in the week. I think they are playing like a Top 10 team right now and it showed defensively in those last five minutes."
Duquesne returns home to face UMass on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 3:00 p.m. (ASN) in the annual Chuck Cooper Classic. The game will also feature recognition of DU's All-Century Team in conjunction with the school's 100th season of basketball.
NOTES
• Micah Mason's 27 points were one shy of his career high ... his seven 3-pointers on eight attempts were a career-best ... Mason hit four 3-pointers in the game's first 12 minutes.
• This was the 115th consecutive start for Derrick Colter ... only one player, Damian Saunders (116) has started more games in a Duquesne uniform ... it was Colter's fourth consecutive game with 20 or more points ... Colter, who upped his career point total to 1,528, passed Saunders (1,511) to move into the No. 11 spot on DU's all-time scoring list.
• TySean Powell came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting ... Powell also added a career-best four assists.
• Darius Lewis finished with a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Duquesne led for 25:42, Dayton for 8:22 and the game was tied for 5:27.
