The University of Richmond men’s basketball team beat the Duquesne University Dukes 73-68 in their Feb. 5 matchup at the Robins Center, to snap a seven game losing streak.
Duquesne is fresh off a successful season that saw the team win the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament championship and advance to the second round of March Madness. However, the Dukes have struggled at times this season, riding a four game losing streak into their matchup against UR.
The Spiders got off to a hot start, led by baskets from sophomore guard Collin Tanner and junior forward Jonathan Beagle, which gave UR a 15-6 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
Defensively, UR was able to apply pressure for much of the first half. While the Dukes came into the night third in the Atlantic 10 in three point percentage shooting 34.8%, they were limited to just 25% in the first half.
Nevertheless, after a good stretch from the Dukes to end the half, the game remained tight with the Spiders leading 33-27.
In the second half, UR was able to extend its lead to as much as 13 points, however, Duquesne never went away, as they dominated the boards, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds to UR’s five.
On the offensive side, UR had their best shooting night of the season, shooting 61% from the floor.
“Without even making that many threes today we were able to be pretty efficient offensively.” graduate forward Dusan Neskovic said in the post-game press conference. “It just goes back to moving off the ball, making [Duquesne] guard longer possessions, and making them guard the cuts that are not easy to guard for any team.”
A recurring issue for UR throughout the season has been finishing games. While UR appeared to have the win secured, holding a 13 point lead with just 3:27 to play, Duquesne forced four turnovers in short succession to cut UR’s lead back to three with 18 seconds remaining.
Neskovic was able to put the game away with two clutch free throws to give UR a 73-68 win on what was a historic night for the graduate, as he surpassed 1,000 career points on a layup with 7:30 remaining in the second half. Neskovic and senior guard Jason Roche led the Spiders in scoring.
However, it was the Spider’s depth that helped to secure the victory. Battling some key injuries to graduate guard DeLonnie Hunt, dealing with a fractured foot, and sophomore guard George Washington III, who recently suffered a stress fracture, UR was forced to rely on its bench more, which stepped up in a big way combining for 24 points tonight, led by a strong performance from first-year forward Ryan Soulis.
“I thought both [Soulis and Roche] were great, Soulis dove for that ball in front of [Duquesne’s] bench, just a big time play.” UR head coach Chris Mooney said postgame. “[Soulis] made a couple shots inside, and Roche was just so tough, he embodies being a college athlete… he’s tough, he’s committed, and he works so hard.”
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With the win tonight, UR has now beaten Duquesne in 28 of their 31 meetings dating back to when UR joined the conference in 2001. The Spiders now improve to 8-15 on the season and 3-7 in Atlantic 10 play. The Spiders look to keep this momentum going on Saturday, as they go on the road to take on Davidson College, who defeated UR 72-66 in their meeting earlier this year.
Contact sports writer Jeremy Young at jeremy.young@richmond.edu
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