Dukes rally to defeat Saint Francis 78-71
By PSR Staff | Tue, 12/17/2013 - 23:08
LORETTO, PA - Ovie Soko scored 23 points and Tra'Vaughn White added 16 as Duquesne battled back from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Saint Francis, Pa. 78-71 at DeGol Arena.
The win was the Dukes 11th in a row and 31st in the past 33 games over the Red Flash who dropped to 2-8.
Duquesne (4-5) scored 51 second-half points - including 29 from Soko and White - in snapping a two-game losing streak. Desmond Ridenour and Jeremiah Jones added 11 and 10 points respectively for the Dukes who shot .630 in the second half.
"In the second half we settled down a little bit offensively, while still playing aggressively," said Duquesne coach Jim Ferry. "I thought we looked more like ourselves in the second half. We were able to find some driving lanes and get to the rim."
The Dukes held SFU to two field goals for over 10 minutes in opening the second half with a 21-9 run. DU took its first lead since the 9:20 mark of the first half at 48-46 on a Jerry Jones 3-pointer with 11:54 to go.
Duquesne was up 75-71 when Soko blocked a Ben Millaud-Meunier layup with 18 seconds left. White, who went 6-of-8 from the field, hit the front end of a one-and-one. Soko, who went 10-of-10 from the line, buried a pair of free throws with 4.3 seconds left for the final margin.
There were two ties and seven lead changes before Millaud-Meunier hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Red Flash a 20-14 lead. Millaud-Meunier hit two more 3-pointers, giving him four in three minutes as the SFU lead reached as many as 13. Duquesne's Dominique McKoy cut the lead to 37-27 with a layup at the first half horn.
The Red Flash - led by Millaud-Meunier's four - hit seven 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, while Duquesne went 0-of-6 from the arc.
Duquesne finished 4-of-13 from the arc, while the Red Flash cooled off, hitting 4-of-15 in the second half to finish 11-of-31.
The Dukes were outstanding from the foul line, converting 22-of-25.
Duquesne plays the second of three in a row on the road when it heads to Massachusetts to face UMass Lowell on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2:00 p.m.
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