Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Updated Records: (#6) Duquesne 24-11. (#5) VCU 22-13.
In a nutshell: Hot-shooting Duquesne ran up an 18-point lead in the first half. It landed like a sucker-punch to the jaw. The Dukes sank seven of 14 three-pointers attempted in the opening stanza.
Battling the Dukes' dogged defense VCU spent the rest of the game working to incrementally recover from that daunting deficit. Late in the second half action, the determined Rams closed the gap to one point, 49-to-48, but their spirited comeback fell short.
Coming off the Rams' bench, Bamisile contributed 20 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished for two assists and blocked three shots. But he went zero-for-eight from beyond the arc .
Jackson scored 11 points, pulled down five rebounds and made two steals. Kuany with six points and three blocks). Lawal scored four points and corralled nine rebounds. However, the Duke's smothering defense held Shulga to five points (1-for-5 in treys) and Bairstow to just three points.
NOTES: (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)
- VCU went just 5-of-24 (21 percent) from 3-point range, while Duquesne shot 8-of-25. Duquesne had a 41-32 advantage in rebounds.
- The Dukes went 7-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half and shot 42.9 percent to build a 36-22 halftime lead.
- VCU’s defense held Duquesne scoreless for an 8:32 second-half stretch. After Duquesne built its lead back to 49-41 with 4:35 remaining, the Rams made another run -- VCU used a 7-0 burst to get within one point.
- Then, down 51-48, the Rams missed shots on back-to-back possessions and the Dukes pulled away with a 6-0 run.
- Shulga and Bamisile were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Championship Team.
NEXT UP: A first round NIT game with Villanova (18-15) Wed., Mar. 20, in Philadelphia. Tipoff at 9 p.m. TV: ESPN2.
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