Duquesne Basketball was at home on Saturday against St. Bonaventure, a conference rival who was 15-3 to start the season and having a win over VCU in Atlantic 10 play. But the Dukes got an early 8-0 to push the lead to 19-10 in the first half.
The Bonnies were never able to get it closer than five points the rest of the way, as Duquesne took control in the second half to get the 75-57 win to move to an impressive 4-1 in conference play. Here are the takeaways from the game.
1. Maximus Edwards continues to thrive
Edwards going off against GW in the prior game could be explained because of a “revenge game.” But the shooting momentum carried over to the next game, with the junior guard leading the team with 17 points off the bench, making 5/7 from deep in 17 minutes. At some point, there was going to be some positive regression with his shooting numbers, and now he’s become a legit part of the rotation.
2. Depth won out against the short-handed Bonnies
Including Edwards, Duquesne finished with 40 points from its bench, compared to just 10 for St. Bonaventure. All 10 rotation players scored once again, compared to just five for the Bonnies. Even though both teams only had three double-digit scorers, the depth that the Dukes had was always going to be an advantage, which played out through all 40 minutes.
3. Jakub Necas the key to top-tier defense
A key part of the depth is Necas, who produced seven points and six rebounds in 32 minutes. He also had a trio of blocks, continuing his run of being an elite defender. He helped limit St. Bonaventure’s Jonah Hinton to 0 points on 0/5 shooting, and as a team, the Bonnies were just 3/14 from deep.
When Necas is healthy and playing extended minutes, the Dukes have consistently been a great team defense. And with the offense playing better thanks to Edwards, Duquesne looks every bit of a true contender in the A-10.