BROOKLYN, N.Y. – After cutting a 14-point deficit to just four with still over six minutes to play, a partisan Bonnies crowd inside Barclays Center was in a full roar.
It looked as though the Bonnies had momentum on their side and were about to make another thrilling comeback in Saturday's Atlantic 10 semifinals.
Dae Dae Grant had other ideas.
He answered with a trey to quiet the crowd before Jimmy Clark III scored six straight points to push Duquesne's lead back to double digits.
So it went for the Bonnies nearly the entire game as Grant (27) and Clark (18) combined for 45 points to power sixth-seeded Duquesne past seventh-seeded Bonaventure, 70-60.
With the win, Duquesne (23-11) moves on to Sunday's championship against VCU, a winner over Saint Joseph's in the early game of the day.
Daryl Banks III led Bona with 14 points and Assa Essamvous added 10.
Duquesne made hay in the early going from the perimeter, hitting four of its first seven tries from deep for a 21-13 lead.
Bona responded by finding footing with a 9-2 run, holding Duquesne scoreless for over three minutes to get within a point following a drive to the bucket by Venning with 4:11 left in the first period
Another 6-0 sprint from the Dukes before the break put the Bonnies in a 28-22 deficit at the half, however.
Venning's bucket would be the last for the Bonnies for nearly nine minutes of game time.
SBU (20-13) wouldn't see another shot fall through the net until the second half was nearly five minutes old when Barry Evans drained a three from the far wing.
By then, Duquesne's lead was 36-22.
Essamvous dropped in a fallaway jumper to pull within nine with 9:55 to go, but there was Grant to answer with a floater in the line.
The Bonnies could not find an answer for Grant who went 10-for-15 from the floor including 6-for-9 from 3-point land.
Barry Evans gave the Bonnies a spark, and a 9-0 Bona run capped by a desperation 3-pointer from Charles Pride just before the shot clock horn made it a four-point spread.
A Bonnies turnover followed by another Grant trey effectively put the rally on ice.
Pride and Moses Flowers both had eight points and Evans finished seven points and seven rebounds.
GAME NOTES
- SBU shot 40 percent from the floor and 6-24 from 3-point land. Duquesne finished at nearly 51 percent and 10-21 from distance.
- Bona owned a 30-29 margin on the class. Both teams had 11 turnovers, but the Dukes turned Bona's turnovers into 18 points while the Bonnies could convert Duquesne miscues into only six points.
- Mika Adams-Woods had five assists for SBU.
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