No. 24 Saint Louis escapes Duquesne’s late push
Trey Green had 14 points and four steals on Tuesday, helping No. 24 Saint Louis stave off host Duquesne for an 81-77 victory in Atlantic 10 play in Pittsburgh.
Robbie Avila and Dion Brown added 14 points apiece for the Billikens (18-1, 6-0), who won their 12th straight game. Brady Dunlap scored 11 and Kellen Thames 10 off the bench.
It marked Saint Louis' first game as a ranked team since Jan. 26, 2021, as the Billikens entered the AP Top 25 poll on Monday.
Jimmie Williams led Duquesne (10-9, 2-4) with 28 points, while Tarence Guinyard scored 14. David Dixon chipped in nine points and 10 boards for the Dukes, who dropped their fourth game in five tries.
Leading by two points at halftime, Saint Louis began the second half with a 9-2 run, taking a 49-40 lead on Amari McCottry's layup, forcing Duquesne to call timeout.
After John Hugley IV's basket cut the Dukes' deficit to nine, the visitors pushed their lead to 17 as Brown's layup extended Saint Louis' edge to 59-42 with 13:27 left.
Trailing by 14, the Dukes mounted a rally, as Dixon and Williams scored four points apiece to slice the deficit to 60-54.
From there, Brown's back-to-back baskets and Avila's 3-pointer created a 67-54 cushion.
Duquesne cut its deficit to six on Guinyard's free throws with 52 seconds left. After an offensive foul, Williams' 3-pointer pulled the Dukes within three.
Williams then stole the ball, leading to Dixon's basket to cut the lead to 78-77 with 28 seconds left.
Dunlap then made two free throws, and Saint Louis forced Williams to miss on the other end. Brown spilt a pair of free throws to put the Billikens ahead by four and seal the win.
Neither team took a two-possession lead until Ishan Sharma scored five straight points to give the Billikens a 17-12 lead.
Trailing by four, Duquesne answered with a 6-0 run, stamped with Jakub Necus' layup to give the Dukes a 26-24 edge.
Duquesne took its largest lead of the half as Hugley's free throws and subsequent triple started a 7-0 run that put the Dukes ahead by five.
From there, Green buried consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 12-2 Billikens run, giving the visitors a 40-35 lead. Guinyard closed the first half with a 3-pointer, pulling the Dukes within two points at halftime.