Duquesne had little time to rest between a home game against St. Bonaventure Thursday night and a matinee today against George Washington.
It?s probably for the best.
The Dukes, mired in a four-game losing streak, had only a few hours to stew on their 100-97 overtime loss against the Bonnies before boarding a bus early Friday morning bound for Smith Center in Washington.
Duquesne (6-11, 1-5 Atlantic 10) let an 11-point lead slip away in the last three minutes of regulation as St. Bonaventure, led by 36 points from guard Marcus Posley, stormed back late and surged ahead in the extra period.
Sophomore forward L.G. Gill called the defeat, the team?s fourth one-possession loss this season, ?very tough? to accept.
?We?re right there,? Gill said. ?It hurts a lot.?
The Dukes past four losses have come by one, nine, six and three points.
?We keep proving to ourselves that we?re good enough to win these games,? coach Jim Ferry said. ?We?ve just got to make that one more play.?
Five of Duquesne?s next seven games will be on the road, a stretch that begins today against the Colonials (15-4, 5-1), who were picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll and earned a vote in The Associated Press poll this week.
Ferry said his players must quickly put the latest loss behind them.
?They have to handle this well,? Ferry said Thursday. ?The season is not over. This is not the last game. We have to handle it well. We have to respond.
?When you?re in all these close games, you?ve got to get something out of it. Close, close, overtime. We?ve got to win the next one.?
George Washington ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding (37.4 rebounds per game) and has four players averaging at least 5.2 rebounds per game. The Colonials? size and athleticism inside could pose a problem for the Dukes, who were outrebounded, 25-13, by the Bonnies in the second half.
St. Bonaventure?s 7-foot center, Youssou Ndoye, had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the second half, while Duquesne center Darius Lewis, the Dukes? biggest option at 6-11, played just three second-half minutes due to ineffectiveness.
Freshman Jordan Robinson, a 6-8, 255-pound center, opened the season as a starter but was quickly shuffled out of the lineup. He has not played in six of the past seven games.
Ferry said Robinson, who redshirted last season due to academic ineligibility, is ?having a very normal freshman year for a big kid.? He is averaging 4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game.
?He?s going to be a really good player for us,? Ferry said. ?We?re really excited about him, but the college game is really new, really fast for him. ? We?re going with some of the older guys right now. Since we?ve done that, we?ve gotten a lot better.?
It?s probably for the best.
The Dukes, mired in a four-game losing streak, had only a few hours to stew on their 100-97 overtime loss against the Bonnies before boarding a bus early Friday morning bound for Smith Center in Washington.
Duquesne (6-11, 1-5 Atlantic 10) let an 11-point lead slip away in the last three minutes of regulation as St. Bonaventure, led by 36 points from guard Marcus Posley, stormed back late and surged ahead in the extra period.
Sophomore forward L.G. Gill called the defeat, the team?s fourth one-possession loss this season, ?very tough? to accept.
?We?re right there,? Gill said. ?It hurts a lot.?
The Dukes past four losses have come by one, nine, six and three points.
?We keep proving to ourselves that we?re good enough to win these games,? coach Jim Ferry said. ?We?ve just got to make that one more play.?
Five of Duquesne?s next seven games will be on the road, a stretch that begins today against the Colonials (15-4, 5-1), who were picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll and earned a vote in The Associated Press poll this week.
Ferry said his players must quickly put the latest loss behind them.
?They have to handle this well,? Ferry said Thursday. ?The season is not over. This is not the last game. We have to handle it well. We have to respond.
?When you?re in all these close games, you?ve got to get something out of it. Close, close, overtime. We?ve got to win the next one.?
George Washington ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding (37.4 rebounds per game) and has four players averaging at least 5.2 rebounds per game. The Colonials? size and athleticism inside could pose a problem for the Dukes, who were outrebounded, 25-13, by the Bonnies in the second half.
St. Bonaventure?s 7-foot center, Youssou Ndoye, had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the second half, while Duquesne center Darius Lewis, the Dukes? biggest option at 6-11, played just three second-half minutes due to ineffectiveness.
Freshman Jordan Robinson, a 6-8, 255-pound center, opened the season as a starter but was quickly shuffled out of the lineup. He has not played in six of the past seven games.
Ferry said Robinson, who redshirted last season due to academic ineligibility, is ?having a very normal freshman year for a big kid.? He is averaging 4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game.
?He?s going to be a really good player for us,? Ferry said. ?We?re really excited about him, but the college game is really new, really fast for him. ? We?re going with some of the older guys right now. Since we?ve done that, we?ve gotten a lot better.?
