Dukes win in triple OT

After Amar Stukes made three free throws, Smith, who was second on the team with 21 points and led with five assists, made another layup and two free throws to trail, 81-79. Smith fell to the floor tipping a pass, CastroCaneddy dived for a steal, flipped the ball up toward the basket and Kellon Taylor tipped it in to send it to double overtime.

“The game looked really over,” Smith said. “I saw people leaving, fans and stuff. I was looking around. But I kept telling them, the game’s not over. There’s a lot of time.”

Duquesne made 29 of 45 free throws total, with Castro-Caneddy making 1 fo 2 free throws at the end of regulation to tie it at 66-66. The Dukes shot .492 from the floor to La Salle’s .410, with the Explorers making 19 of 31 free throws.

“Obviously, we had chances to win in regulation and we didn’t shoot very good free-throw wise,” Dambrot said. “They had chances obviously to win the first overtime, which was a miraculous comeback, which is a tribute to our guys’ resiliency and what they believe in themselves.”

After opening up shooting 0 for 6, the Dukes clung to a 35-34 lead at halftime. With 8:25 to play in the second half, center Jordan Robinson made two jump shots, giving Duquesne a 55-54 lead.

Robinson scored a seasonhigh 13 points to go with 10 rebounds for a double-double, while center Chas Brown scored a season-high 12 points to go with three rebounds. Brown and Robinson had fouled out in a combined 17 minutes in the 78-67 loss Tuesday to VCU Tuesday.

“JRob and Chas played huge,” Smith said. “I think JRob played one of his best games I’ve ever seen JRob play and I think Chas had one of his best games of the season too, despite the foul trouble. I think they were huge. Like Chas got it started down the side, JRob had an inside presence today. Just rebounded everything.”

Better play from Robinson and Brown helped the Dukes to victory, as did seven rebounds and three points by senior forward Eric James late in the game, Dambrot said.

“My takeaway from a couple things is our big guys are playing better, scoring better,” Dambrot said. “We’ve got to keep them out of foul trouble. I thought Mike Lewis II carried it at the end, which was really good to see, and we have to really analyze how we can get him even more involved with that, and then Eric James really helped us. That’s really what this is about, is making sure we win as a team. Because we’re not going to win individually.”

Duquesne travel Wedesnesday to Saint Louis (8-9, 1-3 Atlantic 10).