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Thursday, February 20, 2003

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

This one won't go on file for later use when Danny Nee teaches a clinic on how to close out a basketball game. But, after a frenzied finish to a 78-73 victory last night against George Washington at Palumbo Center, Nee was beaming about his team's grit.

After almost blowing a 12-point lead in the final five minutes, the Dukes (9-16, 3-9) hung on for their second win in a row and tied George Washington (9-14, 3-9) for fifth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference's West Division.

	C Elijah Palmer slams one down in Duquesne's 78-73 win vs. George Washington - its second win in a row. (John Heller, Post-Gazette)

"As a coach, this is as pleased as I've been with this team," Nee said. "I liked our effort, our attitude, and our defense was topnotch. Our guys played really hard. It was as hard as we've played all year. There was a lot of adversity. We battled them. We played with passion and enthusiasm."

It should have been a comfortable victory for the Dukes, but the game turned into a nail-biter at the end. The Dukes took control midway through the second half with a 15-2 run that staked them to a 56-50 lead with 12 minutes remaining. They were able to increase the lead to 12 with 4:27 left before things got interesting.

George Washington scored 11 of the next 16 points to make it 75-70 with 1:12 remaining. Then, Ron Dokes fumbled an inbounds pass, and Jaz Cowan scored to make it 75-72 with 64 seconds left.

Brad Midgley traveled on the Dukes' next possession. George Washington got the ball in the post to Pops Mensah-Bonseu, who was intentionally fouled by Dokes.

Bonseu made 1 of 2 free throws with 37 seconds left, and the Colonials got the ball. Instead of going for the tie on the road, the Colonials went for the win. But Chris Monroe's 3-point attempt was off the mark, and Elijah Palmer rebounded.

It still wasn't over.

Fouled with 17 seconds left, Palmer missed his one-and-one opportunity. Midgley bailed him out with an offensive rebound and was fouled. Midgley made one free throw to make it a 3-point margin with 13 seconds left. Monroe had one final opportunity, but his 3-point attempt was well-defended by Dokes, and the shot did not hit the rim.

Midgley then sank two more free throws with four seconds left to seal the win.

"It was ugly at the end," Midgley said. "We always seem to make it interesting."

"We were up by 10, and, then, the next time I looked up, we were only up three," Palmer said. "I guess we're not used to playing with the lead. That's something we're going to have to work on."

Four Duquesne players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Jimmy Tricco, who had 21 points. He was 7 for 10 from the field and 5 for 8 from 3-point range. Palmer and Kevin Forney each added 16, and Midgley had 12 for his fourth consecutive double-digit game.

The Dukes started out strong and took a 21-9 lead eight minutes into the game, but George Washington bounced back with some accurate 3-point shooting to take a 39-37 halftime lead. The Colonials made 6 of 7 3-point attempts in the first half, two each from Greg Collucci and T.J. Thompson.

Nee gave his team a tongue-lashing at halftime, urging a better defensive effort.

"The game was sitting on the table," he said. "They shot 61 percent from the field and 85 percent from 3-point range in the first half. I knew they wouldn't shoot that in the second half if we played with some enthusiasm. It was going to be won on guts. I told them they were going to have to fight hard, that they were going to have to earn it. I'm just really proud of them."

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NOTES -- The Dukes shot a season-best 58 percent from the field. ... Tricco made five 3-pointers in a game for the sixth time this season and recorded his fourth 20-point game. ... The Dukes outscored the Colonials, 42-16, in the lane. ... The Dukes scored 26 points off 16 George Washington turnovers. ... George Washington is 0-6 on the road in league play... The Dukes next play Sunday at Massachusetts.