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Dukes Beat Bobcats, 96-91 Martin Osimani Ties School Record With 12 Assists
Martin Osimani tied a school record with 12 assists versus Ohio.
 
Martin Osimani tied a school record with 12 assists versus Ohio.
  

Jan. 7, 2004

Box Score

Duquesne shot 66.7 percent from the field and needed every bit of it to hold off Ohio in a wild 96-91 win at the Palumbo Center. The Dukes, who led 87-70 with 1:46 left, saw the Bobcats hit five of their school and Palumbo Center record 20 3-pointers in the final 1:26 to cut the lead to the final five-point margin.

Jon Pawlak led five Dukes in double figures with 15 points, but it was junior point guard Martin Osimani who made things go. Osimani, who received two stitches on the inside of his left eyelid following last Saturday's game at Richmond, was originally not expected to play vs. Ohio but was cleared early in the afternoon. Playing with protective goggles, the junior point guard tied the school record with 12 assists in 25 minutes as Duquesne assisted on 25 of 34 field goals.

The Dukes got out of the blocks quickly hitting 14-of-19 shots in building a 35-22 lead. Elijah Palmer, who finished with 14 points, scored eight in the first three-and-one-half minutes to jump start the Duquesne offense. Duquesne, which led by 14 at the half, built its lead to 22 on a Ryan Tricco 3-pointer at the 10:02 mark but could not relax as Ohio hit 15 second-half 3-pointers to stay within reach, but it was not enough as Duquesne shot 70.8 percent (17-of-24) over the second 20 minutes.

Thomas Stephens and Jaivon Harris, who hit six 3-pointers each, led the Bobcats with 28 and 22 points respectively. Ron Dokes, who went 6-of-6 from the field, joined Palmer with 14 points. Bryant McAllister and Ryan Tricco added 12 and 10 points respectively for DU.

NOTES:

 

 

  • Osimani's 12 assists tied the school record set by Brian Shanahan vs. Iona on Dec. 14, 1986 and matched by Clayton Adams vs. Indiana, Pa. on Dec. 3, 1987 ... prior to this season, the last time a Duquesne player had 10 or more assists in a game was in 1993 ... Osimani has had 10 or more assists in a game twice this season
  • Last time Duquesne shot over 60 percent in a game was on Dec. 8, 1993 in a 91-78 win over St. Francis, Pa.
  • Duquesne's 96 points were its most since a 96-85 overtime win over St. Bonaventure on Mar. 1, 1997
  • DU led from the 17:39 mark of the first half on
  • It was the first time this season Duquesne had five double-digit scorers in a game
  • Ohio's 20 3-pointers broke the Palumbo Center record of 18 set by Richmond on Mar. 2, 2002

QUOTES:

Duquesne head coach Danny Nee

On the play of Martin Osimani:

"I thought his performance was really special. Maybe he should wear the goggles all the time. He was finding open men out there. He played at a very high level."

On the game in general:

"I thought we got a lot of shots we could make. A lot of them were layups. There was a nice flow and good chemistry out there. Ohio was magnificent at making the `three'. We took Ohio's best shot in the second half and were able to come out with a win. You can look at all the numbers, but our goal tonight was to win a basketball game."

On Saturday's game vs. No. 9 Saint Joseph's:

"Getting a Top 10 team in your building on a Saturday night is a big thing. We're going to have to play a controlled game."

Duquesne junior point guard Martin Osimani:

"I was trying to see how I could make this [playing tonight] work. I found out this morning that I was allowed to play. It [Playing with goggles] was really strange, but once you get into the flow of the game everything is gone. I was more worried about getting a win."

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