By Carson Hayek, Sports Staffer
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Darryl “Buddy” Simmons scored 31 points to lead St. Bonaventure University’s basketball team to its second Atlantic 10 victory, 87-79, Wednesday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Simmons II, the Bonnies junior guard, led all scorers with 31 points while senior guard Cayden Charles had a game-high nine rebounds. Duquesne University senior guard Tarence Guinyard and senior forward David Dixon tied for a team-high 12 points while graduate forward Alex Williams grabbed seven rebounds.
Following a 14-5 Duquesne start through the first five minutes, the Bonnies scored seven of the next nine points to cut their deficit to 16-12 with 13 minutes left in the opening half.
The Dukes scored the next nine points, with four points coming from senior forward John Hugley, enlarging their advantage to 25-12.
Over the next eight minutes, Bonaventure went on an 18-9 run, with eight points coming from Simmons to cut their deficit to 34-30.
At halftime, the Dukes held a 39-35 advantage.
Through the first four minutes of the second half, the Bonnies cut the deficit to one point, 45-44.
Two minutes later, a Simmons free throw earned the Bonnies their first lead of the night, 49-48.
Throughout the next five minutes the lead changed hands 4 times.
With a Bonnies 62-61 lead, St. Bonaventure went on a 16-6 run, going 6 of 6 from the field, raising their lead to 78-67 with three minutes left.
The Dukes scored 12 of the final 21 points, but the Bonnies made 9 of 10 free throws to close out the victory.
Bonaventure moves to 13-8 (2-6 A-10) while the Dukes drop to 11-10 (3-5 A-10).
The Bonnies host George Mason on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 6:30 p.m., while Duquesne welcomes Rhode Island on Sunday, Feb. 1, at noon.
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