Dukes Fall To Western Michigan, 85-71
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) -- In their first road game in six games, Duquesne (6-5) took the loss to Western Michigan (3-7) yesterday afternoon, 85-71 and is now 0-3 on the road this season.
"We didn't get out on shooters tonight, and they stepped up and made shots. Every time we made a bucket they came down and answered," said Dukes senior guard B.J. Monteiro, who finished with 13 points and three steals.
The Dukes shot just 34.8 percent from the field and were 2 for 14 from beyond the arc in the first half, while the Broncos converted over 50 percent from the field.
Coming into the game the Broncos were ranked 19th in the country in rebounds per game with almost 41. They grabbed 37 to the Dukes 23 tonight.
Sophomore guard and Detroit native Mike Talley led Duquesne with a season-high 16, while Sean Johnson added 15. T.J. McConnell finished with game-highs, five of the teams' 11 steals and seven of the Dukes' 11 assists, five below their average.
A seven-minute scoring drought against Penn State in their previous game didn't cost them the win, but this time it did, as the Dukes just couldn't get momentum on their side, and were outscored 17-8 in the last eight minutes of the first half yesterday.
"I didn't like our effort in the first half. We looked like we were a step slow and a little flat," Dukes head coach Ron Everhart said on the teams' website.
Much more effective than their season average of 28.7 percent from beyond the arc, WMU had a season-high 10 three-pointers, shooting nearly 45 percent. Junior guard Brandon Pokley was key in that total, knocking down 4 of his 5 attempts from the arc. Western Michigan also shot over 90 percent from the line, a significant improvement from their 63.3 percent season average.
Four Broncos scored in double digits, led by junior forward Nate Hutcheson's game-high 24 points. Pokley, Demetrius Ward and Mike Douglas finished with 16, 15 and 13 respectively. Douglas also had a game-high seven rebounds.
Duquesne shot the ball better in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from the arc, but it wasn't enough in a night that seemed to belong to the Broncos.
There wasn't much else to say, as Coach Everhart had just about the same analysis as Monteiro.
"They shot the ball extremely well. Every time it seemed as though we could get back in it, they'd grab a rebound or find the open man and hit shots. We just couldn't make a shot, and we had out share of good ones," he said.
In case you wanted to know…
- The Dukes take on George Mason (7-3) on Wednesday, December 21 in their last road game before returning home to face Bowling Green (5-5), another MAC team, a week later on December 28th.
- WMU lost its first six games of the season.
- This is the first time in the 13 games that sophomore guard Mike Talley has scored in double-digits that Duquesne has lost.
- The Dukes went 15-22 from the foul line.
- Duquesne is 4-4 against MAC schools under Coach Everhart.
Aly Cohen
The Aly Way
Twitter.com/alyco32
