Clark, Defense Lift Duquesne over Saint Louis, 83-73

NEW YORK — The Duquesne defense started both halves on fire, locking down a shorthanded Saint Louis squad, and Jimmy Clark III continued his late-season hot streak, scoring 20 points to lead the Dukes, 83-73 over the Billikens in the second round of the 2024 Atlantic-10 tournament on Wednesday.

The Dukes got things started with smothering defense, led by Clark and fellow guard Dae Dae Grant. Saint Louis missed each of its first five shots of the game, and Duquesne opened the game on a 12-2 run.

Clark got into some first-half foul trouble, playing only 12 minutes in the first half. He was a plus-22 when he was on the floor for the game, the best mark of any Duquesne player. Without him, Saint Louis clawed back into the game, cutting the lead to four by the half.

In the second period, the Duquesne defense did it again. The Dukes came out flying on D to start the second period, and this time, Grant caught fire at the same time. He made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half as part of a 14-2 Duquesne run to start that period.

Saint Louis ended up shooting 46.7% on the night, erasing some of their early half struggles later in each period, but in addition to the field goal droughts, the Billikens finished with 13 turnovers, netting Duquesne 17 points.

Clark finished with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting, four rebounds and four assists. The senior from Covington, Georgia averaged 15.1 points per game this regular season, but has been hot as of late. He scored 22 points and had a season-high 37% of Duquesne’s offense to close the regular season against George Washington on Saturday.

Grant (17 points, seven assists) and David Dixon (13 points, six rebounds) also finished in double figures.

Duquesne probably could have put Saint Louis away earlier if it wasn’t for an awful night from the free-throw line. Duquesne hit just 11 of 20 foul shots (55%).

Gibson Jimerson had 22 points to lead Saint Louis. The Billikens were without their top offensive threat, Sincere Parker, who has played in just one game since he suffered a foot injury against Duquesne on Feb. 20. He has also been dealing with a shoulder injury and an illness on top of that.

The No. 6-seeded Dukes will advance to play No. 3 seed Dayton in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-10 tournament on Thursday. That game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. at Barclays Center, and will be broadcast on USA Network.

Duquesne lost both matchups against Dayton this season. The Flyers earned a double bye.