James is exhausted after playing 38 minutes tonightThe Dukes played their hearts out tonight but mental mistakes and 2-20 from beyond the arch was too much for the Dukes to overcome, not to mention starting the game off in a 14-0 hole. The Dukes lost to Pitt 73-68.
#21 Shawn James (pictured righted) played like a man possessed, especially in the first half, ending the game with 20 points 9 rebounds and 5 blocks.
James had to make up for poor performances from Kojo Mensah who was 2-12 from the field, and Gary Tucker who also shot poorly going 1-6 on the night. Kieron Achara was 3-12 from the field and missed several key free throws down the stretch for the Dukes.
Sam Young played what seemed like a flawless game for the Panthers dropping 23 to lead all scorers. Young made every open shot he was given, secured a clutch rebound at the end of the game, and seemed to make all of the clutch shots except for a sweet runner scored by Levance Fields in the closing minute to seal the victory for Pitt.
I have never seen a more packed house for a Duquesne game in my entire life, the crowd was crazy tonight at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
The Duquesne crowd was especially tough on Pitt's Levance Fields, chanting "Taser" every time he touched the ball throughout the entire game. The Duquesne crowd was referencing Field's arrest this summer when he assaulted a police officer, attempted to steal his gun, and then was shot in the chest with a taser.
Taser! Taser! Taser!I have never seen a coach whine more than Jamie Dixon did tonight. I mean, who does he think he is, Coach K? Dixon was assessed a Technical foul in the first half.
The Great Whiner.The Dukes made a lot of mistakes, fell WAY behind early, and shot 38.5% from the field, shot 2-20 from beyond the arch, yet still only lost by 5. If Pitt is ranked in the top 10, I like the Dukes chances for the rest of the season.
For a counter view check out The Pitt Blather
2 comments:
Great game last night.
1. Coach Everhart has got to play Fayne more and Tucker less. Fayne defends better than Tucker and his reputed shooting skill has GOT to be better than Tucker's. If we are going to play full court pressure defense, then we will have occasions against the better teams in the A-10 where Mensah and A. Jackson will get into foul trouble. Tucker's lesser athleticism and awful shooting didn't merit defensive pressure from Pitt while A. Jackson was on the bench, and Pitt was able to divert their full attention to Mensah, forcing Mensah into bad shots and turnovers. I personally think Fayne is the answer, but he has to see more playing time in highly competitive, non-conference games to get up to speed. Six minutes was a mistake by Coach Everhart, in my opinion, and I hope it is not repeated on Saturday against West Virginia.
2. Who does Achara think he is, Kevin Pittsnogle? Get under the hoop, laddie, and stop shooting threes.
3. The Pitt game was great exposure for Clark and Saunders last night. They now know what to expect from a top team at this level, and they played pretty well considering their lack of experience.
Time to smack the crap out of the Hoopies and their corrupt coach.
GO DUKES!
Gary Tucker played poorly last night, I can't argue with you there. Tucker has had some strong games so far this season, especially against Niagara when he had some clutch steals and buckets down the stretch. He is also a senior. Those are reasons why I bet Everhart gave him the extra minutes over Fayne.
I must admit I love Philip Fayne. He is a tough strong kid who has a decent jumper and plays good defense. The problem with Fayne is that he isn't quick enough to guard Pitt's speedy guards, Ramon and Fields. Fayne really didn't match up well against any of the Panthers, with the possible exception of Mike Cook.
Achara has shown that he can hit the three ball, but never consistently. Kieron's overall performance was a big reason why the Dukes lost last night, he is a senior and i expected more from him. That being said I love Kieron and I am proud to have him as a member of the Dukes.
As for the freshman Clark and Saunders, yep this is the kind of experiance they need to help Duquesne win these types of games in the future. Pitt's players have played in these types of close games for years now, and that is a big reason why they were able to hold on for the win.
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