2011 Duquesne Dukes Basketball: Duquesne vs George Washington

Bill Clark led five Duquesne starters in double figures with 23 points (and team-best 10 rebounds) as the Dukes rolled to their 11th consecutive victory, whipping George Washington 84-59 at the Palumbo Center. Tony Taylor led GW with 21 points while Brian Bynes added 14 and five assists off the bench, but Karl Hobbs' team took a thorough beating thanks to 26 turnovers and cold shooting in the second half. Duquesne (16-5, 8-0) scored 29 points off of those turnovers while also outscoring George Washington 34-12 in the paint, and if not for a 23-10 edge in bench points the margin of defeat could have reached 40. But the end result was still enough for the Dukes to tie their biggest margin of victory in the history of the series (67 games).

The Dukes got off to a fast start, scoring 12 of the first 14 points with T.J. McConnell's jumper out of the first media timeout giving them a 12-2 lead with 15:36 remaining in the half. Shortly after that however Duquesne would turn the ball over on consecutive possessions, sparking a 14-2 George Washington run to give the Colonials (11-11, 4-4) a 16-14 lead with 10:50 remaining. But the pace could have proven to be too fast for GW despite the fact that they were able to get to the under 8 timeout down by just one point (22-21). A Bynes jumper would cut the Duquesne lead to 33-28 with 4:23 to go, but from there the Dukes would outscore George Washington 10-4 the rest of the half.

A Bynes three just over a minute into the second half cut the lead down to nine but unfortunately for George Washington that would be as close as they'd get the rest of the night. Duquesne responded by pushing their lead out to 16 points (50-34) in less than two minutes of action, and by the under 16 media timeout the score was 57-40. The Dukes, who entered the game averaging 81.8 points per game, have been the best offensive team in the Atlantic 10 this season and when they get going few teams can keep up. An Eric Evans three pointer with 12:16 remaining capped a 12-0 run, making the score 65-40. Duquesne would eventually lead by as many as 29 (72-43), and from that point the game was essentially a glorified scrimmage for each team's reserves.

Both teams struggled from the foul line, which is a concern for both teams as they're the two worst foul shooting teams in the A-10. Duquesne missed 20 of 43 attempts and while that number didn't hurt them Wednesday night it's an area that could come back to bite them when the games become bigger, most notably the matchup with Xavier on February 13th. The last time Duquesne won at least 11 in a row was during the 1970-71 season, which ended with an NCAA Tournament berth. Next up for the Dukes is a trip to St. Bonaventure on Saturday, and George Washington visits Charlotte the same day.

Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Fans

Duquesne Rolls to 11th Straight Win