A-10 Tournament: 20th win lifts Dukes into semifinals
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Duquesne's Aaron Jackson clutches the ball during the final moments of the Dukes' win last night against Rhode Island. -
Rhode Island's Ben Eaves and Duquesne's Bill Clark fight for the ball in the first half last night in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Atlantic City, N.J. -
Duquesne's Melquan Bolding shoots against Rhode Island's Marquis Jones and Kahiem Seawright in the first half.
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Duquesne's surprising postseason march continued last night at the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
Sophomore forward Damian Saunders scored 20 points and Jason Duty hit two free throws with 25 seconds left as the seventh-seeded Dukes upset No. 2 seed Rhode Island, 78-74, in a quarterfinal game at Boardwalk Hall.
Duquesne not only reached the 20-win total for the first time in 28 years, but it also advanced to the semifinal round for the first time in 15.
The Dukes (20-11) will meet No. 3 seed Dayton (26-6) in a semifinal matchup at 9 p.m. today. The Flyers beat Duquesne twice in the regular season, winning 78-69 at the Palumbo Center Jan. 17 and 74-61 at home six days ago.
"It feels good to get to 20 wins," said Saunders, who made 9 of 11 shots, including both 3-pointers, while playing all 40 minutes. "It is a good barometer for a good season. But we don't want to stop at 20. We want to take it further."
- Game: Duquesne (20-11) vs. Dayton (26-6), 9 p.m.
- Where: Atlantic City, N.J.
- TV: PCNC.
Duquesne, which lost to Rhode Island (20-12) by two points March 1 in a regular-season game at the Palumbo Center, got 19 points and 13 rebounds from sophomore swingman Bill Clark in 40 minutes.
And senior guard Aaron Jackson contributed 17 points and four assists. He broke the single-season record for assists (178), passing Norm Nixon.
"I thought our kids showed a lot of toughness and resiliency," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said. "I am really happy they were able to come out with a win."
The Rams, who had beaten Duquesne five consecutive times, didn't go down without a fight. Senior guard Jimmy Baron (26 points) hit his tournament-record-tying eighth 3-pointer with 32 seconds to play to cut the Dukes' lead to 76-74.
But Duty's two free throws seven seconds later clinched the win for Duquesne. Baron did miss two 3-pointers in the final 13 seconds, allowing Duquesne to escape with back-to-back wins in the Atlantic 10 tournament for the first time in 24 years.
The last time the Dukes reached the semifinals in 1994, they only needed to win one game.
"This is disappointing," said Rhode Island coach Jim Baron, whose record dropped to 4-9 in A-10 tournament play. "We came here to win. We just didn't get it done. You have to give Duquesne a lot of credit. They played well."
The Dukes made 10 of 24 shots from 3-point range, and are 16-3 when sinking eight or more in a game this season. The Dukes also outscored the Rams, 32-30, in the lane, despite being outrebounded by a lopsided margin of 43-29.
Saunders, who managed just nine points and four rebounds in the opening-round win Wednesday against Massachusetts, added 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks against Rhode Island.
"The first game, I was rushing my shots and not playing aggressively," he said. "Tonight, I just let things come to me and the shots and points came pretty easily."
Freshman guard Eric Evans scored on an acrobatic, twisting layup with 53 seconds to go in the first half to give Duquesne a 37-32 lead. But Jimmy Baron's 3-pointer 11 seconds later pulled the Rams to within two, 37-35, at halftime
The Dukes had fallen behind, 22-20, with eight minutes left, but quickly regained the lead on back-to-back baskets by Clark and Saunders, who hit 5 of 6 shots and scored 10 points in the opening half.
Saunders had gotten the Dukes off to a quick start, scoring six of the first eight points and eight of 16 as the Dukes took a 16-14 lead.
Saunders also assisted on one of Jackson's early baskets with a super defensive play. Saunders swiped a pass near mid-court, dribbled the ball behind his back and delivered a perfect pass to Jackson, who converted any easy layup.
"Damian was all around the basket -- he was just terrific," Everhart said. "I don't know how he could be any more efficient than he was."
First Published March 13, 2009 12:00 am
