WASHINGTON -- Duquesne fought through knee-high (and then some) snow to get to the Smith Center to play George Washington today.

And when the Dukes got there, they had to fight through what was, at time, an ugly defensive clash before earning a 70-63 Atlantic 10 Conference victory against the Colonials (12-10, 2-7).

Damian Saunders led the Dukes (12-11, 3-6) with 27 points and 16 rebounds; George Washington was paced by Lasan Kromah with 15 points.

The game was played despite many events in the region being cancelled as a result of a crippling snowstorm that dumped upwards of 20 inches on the nation's capital.

Duquesne's team bus got stuck in the snow at the team hotel, thus the Dukes had to hop into a few shuttles to make the short trip over to the Smith Center.

The Dukes grabbed a 33-28 lead at halftime in an opening 20 minutes as ugly as trying to maneuver around the Washington streets.

At the half, Duquesne was ahead, largely, because of the effort it gave on defense, holding the Colonials to 9 for 30 shooting and forcing them into 12 turnovers.

The game stayed nip-and-tuck through the opening portion of the second half, with the Dukes taking a 55-50 lead with 7:36 remaining.

From there, the Dukes made it 61-55 with just over 5 minutes left.

The Colonials were able to cut it to 64-63 with 1:25 remaining before Eric Evans got it back to 66-63 on a layup for Duquesne on the ensuing possession and the Dukes held on.

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