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March 4, 2009 by Josh Taylor | A10CollegeHoops

PITTSBURGH, PA. — For the second year in a row, Duquesne hosted Saint Louis at the A.J. Palumbo Center for their season home finale, and just like the previous meeting, the Dukes walked away with a win. A strong second half by sophomore forward Bill Clark and a clutch performance by senior guard Aaron Jackson helped the Dukes secure a 70-68 victory over the Billikens.

Jackson, in his last scheduled home game of his career, scored 23 points, including the final 11 for Duquesne, with five rebounds and seven assists. Clark scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 17 in the second half.

Duquesne started out with Jackson in his customary role as the team’s catalyst, scoring on a layup and then assisting on one by Melquan Bolding to go out to an early 4-0 lead. Saint Louis finally got on the board with two layups by Kwamain Mitchell, and then a three-pointer by Kevin Lisch gave them their first lead, 7-6. Lisch scored 10 in the first half and tied Jackson for the game high.

Duquesne regained the lead, and then freshman guard Eric Evans went on a run of his own, scoring six straight points for the Dukes and scoring 10 in the half. His layup with 8:44 remaining in the half put the Dukes up, 16-13.

“We realized the mismatch on Eric,” Jackson said. “We knew right away that it’s hard for them to guard him off the dribble, and he established that early in the game. He played a heck of a game for us.”

Saint Louis eventually cut Duquesne’s lead to one, but Evans’ three-pointer with 2:09 remaining extended it back to four. He then made one of two free throw attempts to put the Dukes up, 27-22, with 58 seconds to go.

“I thought Eric Evans was big for us at times,” Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said, “and I thought Bolding was big for us at times early in the game.”

After that, it was Lisch’s turn to respond, hitting a three of his own to make it 27-25 with 36 seconds left.

“We’re not going to miss him anymore, I’ll tell you that.” a smiling Everhart said of Lisch, who tied a career high with six made from behind the arc. “He’s a hell of a player.”

Duquesne was in position to take the final shot of the half, but a turnover by Bolding led to a last-second layup by Mitchell and a foul on freshman forward Oliver Lewinson. But Mitchell’s chance for a three-point play and the lead didn’t go in, and the two teams went into the half tied at 27.

The second half started with a reprise of how the first ended, alternating three-point shots by Evans and Lisch. But then Bill Clark knocked down his first of five threes on the night to put Duquesne up, 33-20. Saint Louis took a 36-35 lead on a layup by Barry Eberhardt, but Clark knowcked down another three and gave the Dukes the lead back.

“It was big for us,” Everhart said of Clark’s second half. “The only guy that has defended Billy Clark this year is Billy Clark. I hope that he can continue to keep his composure and play in our upcoming games the way he played in the second half because he was huge for us.”

“I said, ‘let me shoot as many shots as I can before I foul out,’” Clark said, tongue-in-cheek about his late surge. “I think, as everyone in here knows, I’m good at fouling, and the refs pretty much hate me, regardless, at home. So I figure I might as well get as many shots as I can before I foul out, and I ended the game with four fouls. Mission accomplished.”

Clark’s third three with 11:42 remaining put Duquesne up by seven, but then Saint Louis went on a 20-9 run over the next 7:35 to take the lead back. Lisch’s two free throws with 4:09 remaining gave the Billikens a 60-53 lead.

Duquesne struck back with an 11-4 run, including Clark’s last two three-pointers and five straight points by Jackson to tie the game at 64 with 1:43 left. Jackson then hit six straight free throws after Eberhardt converted one of two to put Duquesne ahead, 70-65.

During that run, Lisch missed two attempts from behind the arc in the last 33 seconds to keep the Billikens close. His last attempt missed with five seconds left, and Jackson pulled down the rebound, helping to stave off the late-game threat.

“We told our guys in the timeout exactly what they were going to do,” Everhart said of Duquesne’s expectation for Lisch to get the ball. “I kind of rolled the dice telling our guys that because I didn’t know for sure that’s what they were going to do, but they did and Damian [Saunders] was right on it. I thought he really got out quick enough and got high enough to bother his shot, but with Lisch, he’s capable of making that.”

Jackson was fouled after the rebound, and stood at the line with a chance to put the game out of reach. He hit both free throws from the double bonus and sealed it for the Dukes. Duquesne then called a 30-second timout, and after the break, the Duquesne fans gave a standing ovation, chanting, “AA-RON! AA-RON!”

“It was a really cool feeling,” Jackson said about the end of the game. “I try not to get too emotional. The crowd, knowing it’s my last game ever, is probably something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Mitchell’s long three-pointer from half court counted at the buzzer, but it would only count to cut the final gap to two points. The game had already been won, and the victors held their veteran leader at the heart of it.

“It’s his last home game, so you feel you want to win,” Clark said. “I’d say this game is for Aaron; not for ourselves, but for Aaron.”

For the senior who endured a 3-24 season as a freshman and a horrific campus shooting that wounded him and four of his teammates as a sophomore, Jackson was able to look fondly upon ending his career as a contributor to back-to-back winning seasons at Duquesne for the first time since the 1980-81 season.

“When you look at Duquesne on the A-10 schedule, you don’t say, ‘Oh, here’s Duquesne, this is a guaranteed win,’” Jackson said. “When you play Duquesne, it’s like, ‘We’re going to have to give them our best shot.’ Words cannot express how happy I am to be a part of this new era of the Duquesne Dukes.”

“I talked to our kids before we walked out of the locker room tonight, and I said to them, ‘this is the last game this guy is going to play in this arena,’” Everhart said. “‘Make sure this is a night he’s going to remember the right way, not the wrong way because someday he’s going to have to tell his kids what happened the last night you played in your gym.’ I’m very excited they were able to do that.”

Both teams will close out the regular season Saturday, with Duquesne visiting Dayton and Saint Louis hosting LaSalle. The Atlantic 10 Championships will commence on March 11 in Atlantic City.