By Aaron M Smith
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY – On a night where Andrew Nicholson made a major case for the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, the Duquesne Dukes were front and center for the presentation.
In front of 4,505 Bona faithful, Nicholson scored a game-high 21 points and pulled in a career-high 23 rebounds, Chris Johnson scored 15, and Dometrius Conger hauled in seven offensive rebounds as the Bonnies cruised to a convincing 69-48 win over Duquesne in Atlantic 10 action on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center .
T.J. McConnell led the visiting Dukes with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Duquesne started the scoring in the game after a Demetrius Conger miss, sophomore guard T.J. McConnell brought down the rebound, dribbled just past half court and found a wide open B.J. Monteiro underneath the basket for an easy lay-up. McConnell would assist on the first three baskets for the Dukes, as they raced out to an early 7-2 lead.
However basketball is a game of runs, and the Brown and White quickly responded. A swift ball reversal off a McConnell miss allowed Matthew Wright to drive baseline and finish on a gorgeous reverse layup to tie the score at eight.
The momentum of the game turned at the 11:20 mark with SBU leading by one, 16-15. Eric Moseley picked Sean Johnson’s back pocket for the theft and immediately raced down the floor. Just inside the free throw line, Moseley drew the only defender to him, dropped a pass to the trailing Nicholson, who was fouled on the back of the head as he was attempting to dunk by Johnson.
A flagrant foul was called on the Dukes’ junior and Nicholson hit both free-throws. On the subsequent inbound play, Moseley hit a trifecta in front of the Duquesne’s bench for a 21-15 lead, and the Bonnies never looked back.
“Tonight I thought we had great energy,” Coach Mark Schmidt stated. “Last time we played them (Duquesne)m I thought we matched their energy. But in order to beat them tonight we needed to have more, and I thought we did a great job of that tonight.”
After trading baskets for most of the first stanza, the Brown and White extended its lead to 40-25 after Chris Johnson’s second bucket from downtown and a pair of free throws from Da’Quan Cook. The Dukes attempted to rally and after a three ball from Sean Johnson, both teams headed to locker rooms with SBU leading, 40-30.
The second half proved to be a continuance of first half with teams exchanging baskets to start the half , and the Bonnies gained an advantage attacking the offensive glass.
A 11-4 run by Bona soon after the break pushed the lead to 57-40, capped by an Andrew Nicholson emphatic dunk off a Chris Johnson pass. During the pivotal run, the Brown and White corralled seven offensive rebounds.
The Dukes attempted to answer as Mike Talley hit a three ball right in front of the student section to pull the visiting team within striking distance at 57-43.
But on this historic night, the Bonnies answered each Duquesne comeback. A Demetrius Conger jumper, followed by a Nicholson putback off a Chris Johnson miss extended the lead to 63-43, and DU never challenged again.
For the game the Bonnies had a decisive 48-26 rebounding advantage over the Dukes. SBU also grabbed 21 offensive boards; Nicholson secured 15 of his 23 in the second half.
“I should probably start by saying that Nicholson is a great player,” Duquesne coach Ron Everhart quipped. ” He had a great game today not just on the offensive end where it was obvious that he had a great game. But he had a great game defensively keeping our guards away from the rim, challenging shots, and I thought he was tremendous today. We forced too many shots, we didn’t make the extra pass, and we have been doing very good with that all year – being able to play small and making the extra pass. But I thought he (Nicholson) and Cook negated that very effectively.”
Nicholson’s 23 rebound game marked just the fourth time in Bonaventure history that a player has registered more than 20 rebounds in a game. Only Bob Lanier’s performances of 27 and 24 rebounds in a game rank higher.
When asked the last time he had 20 rebounds in a game the Mississauga, Ontario native quickly joked, ” In my dreams.”
To the delight of those in attendance Saturday night, those dreams became a reality.
SBU improves to 6-4 in A-10 conference play and 13-9 overall. The Brown and White host first place Temple on Wednesday, February 15 for an 8 pm tip-off.
Duquesne drops to 5-5 in A-10 play and 14-10 overall. The Dukes host Fordham on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
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