Explorers find way past Dukes at end
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Andre Marhold of Duquesne muscles up a shot against La Salle's Steve Zack.
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Duquesne is not used to losing at home.
The Dukes fell to La Salle, 71-68, Saturday night, failing to get a big stop in the game's final minute as the Explorers rallied for a key road win.
"We just didn't sit down and guard the ball and get the last stop," Dukes coach Ron Everhart said. "That's what you have to do in a really tight basketball game. I tip my hat off to these guys. Their kids did a really good job executing."
Duquesne, which had clawed back from multiple deficits, tied the game, 66-66, with 1:17 left on a putback by Jerry Jones.
The Explorers surged ahead with a three-point play from Ramon Galloway, but B.J. Monteiro countered with a layup to make it 69-68 with 43 seconds to go. From there, the Dukes could not get a stop, then tipped the ball out of bounds to give possession back to La Salle on a rebound with eight seconds left.
"It came down to the last two possessions," Sean Johnson said. "That's just the type of plays that we need to [make] down the stretch."
Sam Mills drew a foul off the inbounds pass, hit his free throws, and La Salle had its final lead. Duquesne got one last chance with 6.2 seconds to play, but Jones' 3-pointer was blocked as time expired.
"We've got a young team this year, and this has happened to us a couple of times this year," Everhart said. "Robert Morris and Saint Joe's. At the end of the game, for whatever reason, we didn't make a big stop or a big play."
The Dukes (12-9, 3-4 A-10) trailed, 28-27, at the half after struggling to operate in a half-court offense under pressure from La Salle (16-6, 5-2).
"We've seen stuff like that before," said guard T.J. McConnell, who went 8 for 11 from the floor for 19 points, but had six turnovers. "We just didn't hit open shots. When we did, we were in the game. I think we could've won this."
The Dukes broke through early in the second half and used a 9-2 run out of the gate for their first sizeable lead at 36-30.
Sean Johnson then slashed to the rim for two, hit a free throw to make it a three-point play and a 41-32 lead.
La Salle worked its way back into the game with 13 second-half points from Ramon Galloway and 12 from Earl Pettis. The pair finished with 15 and 20 points, respectively.
"The thing that surprised me more, where they were better than I even thought they were on film was their guards who play above the rim and finish above the rim," Everhart said. "You can count their missed layups on one hand, you can count ours on three. By the same token, they pass it, they're unselfish. That makes for a good basketball team."
Duquesne turned the ball over 17 times, but forced 18. The Dukes managed to outrebound the Explorers, 33-28, but were outscored inside, 40-26.
Duquesne struggled to shoot just 37.3 from the floor in the first half, settling for outside shots. A nine point run -- aided by a Johnson 3-pointer and layup and a pair of Monteiro free throws -- gave the Dukes a 27-25 lead with just 1:16 to play.
D.J. Peterson scored a 3-pointer to put the Explorers on top, 28-27. Duquesne held the Explorers scoreless on a jumper and the attempted tip-in that followed before getting the ball with 1.6 seconds to play.
Monteiro hurled a 30-foot pass to Johnson, who took a step at the arc, set his feet and hit the rim with a 3-point shot at the buzzer.
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NOTES -- Monteiro played without a bandage on his hand for the first time since returning from a hand injury. ... La Salle leads the all-time series between the two teams, 37-30, and has won four of the past five in Pittsburgh.
First Published January 29, 2012 12:00 am
