As Frank Mitchell threw down the alley-oop dunk off a pass from Dasonte Bowen, the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse was sent into a different kind of frenzy. Bonnie fans took over the arena in their corner section adjacent to the Dukes student section because they knew their squad was well on its way to a potential season-altering win over their bitter rivals, the Duquesne Dukes.
That dunk put the St. Bonaventure Bonnies up by double figures, building on a lead they would never squander the rest of the way. Thanks to a second-half shooting surge to remember, the Bonnies came away with an 87-79 triumph over Duquesne on Wednesday night.
The Bonnies shot 16-for-24 from the field in the second half, a mark that equated to a 66.7% clip. They also hit seven three-pointers on 11 tries in the final 20.
“We didn’t guard,” Dukes Head Coach Dru Joyce III lamented. “We didn’t put stops together. You have to be disciplined to get stops. You need all five guys working to get stops.
We never set the tone. We have to have a will, and I can’t impact will. I can motivate to play, or at least motivate in that direction. I can put together a strategy, too. But your will, that’s internal. You have to want to defend.”
Duquesne actually led for over half the game, with its largest lead of the first half being 13. But as the first half came to a close and the Duquesne lead shrank to four by the break, the arena could feel the momentum and control shifting. It only took until the 13:52 mark for a Buddy Simmons II free throw to give the Bonnies their first lead of the night at 49-48.
On the topic of Simmons, he had a season-high 31 points on the night, with 17 of them coming in the second half. He could not be stopped, and neither could Bowen, who had 19 points overall. 11 of those points came in the second half for him, so the dynamic duo combined for 28 second-half points, which helped continue to extinguish Duquesne runs.
Thanks to three threes in about a minute and a half, the Dukes shot back ahead 57-56. The Dukes offense flattened out, and the Bonnies came alive, transforming their 62-61 lead into a 76-66 lead referenced in the open with 3:33 left.
As for positives for Duquesne, Tarence Guinyard tied a program record with 12 assists in a game. Joyce III believes he is continuing to trend in the right direction in that department.
”I’m excited about his 12 assists, right? He continues to get better in that category, game by game. His assist numbers keep going up, things we’re asking him to do, right?” Joyce III explained.
This is not the last that the Dukes will see of the Bonnies, as they will complete their season series on Feb. 14 at the Reilly Center.
As for the immediate future, Duquesne will stay in Pittsburgh and prep for a Sunday matinee against Rhode Island at 12 PM. The game will be broadcast on USA Network, marking the third and final time the Dukes will be featured on national TV this calendar year.
Bonus Points
The last time Duquesne went the first month of conference play without winning a home conference game was during the 2021-22 season. That was the year that the Dukes infamously went 1-16 in conference play. Not to say that the Dukes of 2025-26 are anything like that…it just remains a fact that makes Duquesne fans scratch their heads.
The remaining home games for the Dukes, in chronological order, are Rhode Island, GW, La Salle, Davidson and Richmond.