Olean, N.Y. – Lajae Jones and Melvin Council, Jr., combined for 44 points and St. Bonaventure held off a late rally by the Duquesne University men's basketball team Saturday at the Reilly Center, earning a 70-63 win. The Dukes dipped to 11-16 (.407) overall during the 2024-25 season, including 6-8 (.429) in the Atlantic 10.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
The Bonnies owned a pair of double-digit leads early in the second half, including 48-38 at the 16:24 mark, but the Dukes chipped away, eventually using an 8-0 spurt to close to within 61-60 with just over five minutes remaining. Chance Moore would stem the tide with a driving layup for St. Bonaventure (19-9 | 7-8 Atlantic 10) before Duquesne had five opportunities at the tying basket in the span of a 1:05. Senior guard Tre Dinkins III missed a pair from beyond the arc, and a pair of offensive rebounds gave the Dukes life, but redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford and senior guard Kareem Rozier each failed to connect from deep. The shot from Rozier led to a fastbreak for St. Bonaventure, but junior forward David Dixon came from the weak side to block a layup attempt from Moore. On the ensuing possession, junior forward Matúš Hronský left a three-point attempt short, and Council, Jr., would answer by burying a shot from deep to give the Bonnies a 66-60 edge with 2:23 left.
 
QUOTABLE
"We had some good looks," head coach Dru Joyce III said. "You always want to find good possessions where you have the best shot quality and chance possible, but we have to be better defensively in transition. Especially when you're on the road. Their ball pressure took us out of some things early on, but once we were able to settle in, it was a back-and-forth ball game. Our guys' energy and effort were there, we just need to be a little sharper."
 
THE DUO
Jones scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the first 20 minutes, with Council, Jr., scoring 15 of his 20 points after the break. Combined, the pair finished 16-for-25 from the field, including 6-for-9 from deep. Jones added four rebounds and five steals, while Council, Jr., tallied five rebounds and four assists. In producing 62.9 percent of the offensive output for the Bonnies, the duo also got into the paint, helping St. Bonaventure own a 30-18 cushion in scoring on the low block. It helped negate the effort of Duquesne on the glass, which owned a 39-24 edge in rebounds, including 13-2 in offensive boards. The Dukes held a 14-6 advantage in second chance opportunities. Sophomore forward Eli Wilborn was a key factor, as four of his five boards were on the offensive glass as he supplied eight points while notching a pair of steals.
 
QUOTABLE
"We've taken our bumps," Joyce III said. "A lot of lessons learned. We're a young team when it comes to us being together and taking over some of these responsibilities as leaders or big-time playmakers on the road. We've been good in situations and we've failed in some. We just have to handle our runs a little bit better. Those are key to being able to sustain and have an answer in those moments with a defensive stop and a score. We've done a good job of it lately at home, but we have to be able to transfer it on the road. Everyone is battling through it. We've shown some character about ourselves. We have a couple more shots on the road. Hopefully we can grab one."
 
THE MILESTONES
A trio of Dukes hit milestones Saturday against the Bonnies, with the first coming at the 17:38 mark of the first half. Dinkins III buried a three-pointer to give the Dukes an early 6-4 edge and in the process reached the 1,000-point plateau. He led Duquense against St. Bonaventure with 15 points, pushing his career total in points to 1,013 in 89 games. Redshirt junior guard Maximus Edwards reached 500 career rebounds in the first half, with his first of the game at 16:20 helping him reach the threshold. Edwards led all players in boards Saturday with 10, moving his career total to 509. Finally, Rozier eclipsed 250 career assists with his third dime of the contest, which came with 13:53 to play on a feed to Wilborn for a layup. Rozier notched five assists Saturday against the Bonnie vs. just one turnover, improving his assist-to-turnover ratio on the season to 3.59, which ranks in the top five of NCAA Division I.
 
NOTES
The Dukes were without sophomore forward Jakub Necas for a second consecutive game, while senior forward Jahsean Corbett missed the game due to illness … Junior forward Chabi Barre returned to action after missing the previous six games and in just over seven minutes scored four points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot … Crawford contributed 12 points and four rebounds for the Dukes, while Hronský scored 11 points and grabbed six boards … St. Bonaventure snapped a five-game losing streak in the all-time series to Duquesne … The Bonnies shot 50 percent (13-for-26) in the first half and 50 percent (11-for-22) after the break … Moore contributed 12 points for St. Bonaventure … The contest featured two ties and four lead changes … Dixon earned the start in place of Corbett, marking the ninth different starting lineup for the Dukes this season … Eight different players have started at least 10 games for Duquesne in 2024-25 … Twelve of Duquesne's 16 losses have been by seven points or less, with the six road losses for the Dukes in Atlantic 10 play coming by a total of 25 points (4.17 average margin of defeat).
 
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up its two-game road swing Wednesday, Feb. 25, with a 6:30 p.m. tip at La Salle.
 
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