Duquesne overcomes second-half lull to beat Loyola Chicago
Duquesne overcame an early second-half scoring lull and played steady defense throughout a 69-56 win over Loyola Chicago that snapped a five-game losing streak in Atlantic 10 Conference play at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Saturday night.
The Dukes (10-14, 5-6) failed to convert on any of their first 11 shot attempts to begin the second half before KareemRozier ended the drought with 12:33 to go in the game. They were finding quality looks and still maintained strong defensive play to limit the Ramblers' production during the lull, but the shots simply weren't falling. Rozier's bucket helped shift the momentum, though, as Duquesne responded by converting on six of seven shot attempts to regain the advantage as well as additional separation.
"I applaud my guys. They never dropped their heads, they just kept playing," DruJoyceIII said. "We got enough stops in there, but honestly, I applaud them for the looks they got, too. I think we had good possessions. We weren't playing bad basketball, and sometimes that's more important than watching the scoreboard. 'How is our rhythm? How are we playing? How are we defending?' And I think, even during that stretch, our defense was still strong, and we had shots in front of the rim. We wanted to attack the paint, we just didn't finish them. Just tried to get the guys to remain confident, stay patient, and they kept attacking. You like to give positive outlook and say, 'It's going to happen at some point.' I think it finally broke our way."
Duquesne limited Loyola (14-9, 5-5) to a 37.7% shooting performance and forced 15 turnovers in the win. They scored 18 points off of turnovers and also won the rebounding battle by a 37-35 margin.
“We try to build on the defensive side. It’s our thing,” Jakub Necas said. “We know on offense we need to share the ball, but we have to start on defense first. Then we create easy shots in transition after rebounds.”
Four players finished in double figures for the Dukes, who shot 43.1% from the field and 29.2% from three-point range. Tre Dinkins III led the way with 12 points, while CamCrawford finished with 11. Necas and DavidDixon each contributed with 10.
THE ASYLUM
Duquesne overcomes second-half lull to beat Loyola Chicago
Duquesne overcame an early second-half scoring lull and played steady defense throughout a 69-56 win over Loyola Chicago that snapped a five-game losing streak in Atlantic 10 Conference play at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Saturday night.
The Dukes (10-14, 5-6) failed to convert on any of their first 11 shot attempts to begin the second half before Kareem Rozier ended the drought with 12:33 to go in the game. They were finding quality looks and still maintained strong defensive play to limit the Ramblers' production during the lull, but the shots simply weren't falling. Rozier's bucket helped shift the momentum, though, as Duquesne responded by converting on six of seven shot attempts to regain the advantage as well as additional separation.
"I applaud my guys. They never dropped their heads, they just kept playing," Dru Joyce III said. "We got enough stops in there, but honestly, I applaud them for the looks they got, too. I think we had good possessions. We weren't playing bad basketball, and sometimes that's more important than watching the scoreboard. 'How is our rhythm? How are we playing? How are we defending?' And I think, even during that stretch, our defense was still strong, and we had shots in front of the rim. We wanted to attack the paint, we just didn't finish them. Just tried to get the guys to remain confident, stay patient, and they kept attacking. You like to give positive outlook and say, 'It's going to happen at some point.' I think it finally broke our way."
Duquesne limited Loyola (14-9, 5-5) to a 37.7% shooting performance and forced 15 turnovers in the win. They scored 18 points off of turnovers and also won the rebounding battle by a 37-35 margin.
“We try to build on the defensive side. It’s our thing,” Jakub Necas said. “We know on offense we need to share the ball, but we have to start on defense first. Then we create easy shots in transition after rebounds.”
Four players finished in double figures for the Dukes, who shot 43.1% from the field and 29.2% from three-point range. Tre Dinkins III led the way with 12 points, while Cam Crawford finished with 11. Necas and David Dixon each contributed with 10.
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