The Duquesne Duke

Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Brad Morocco

Attention: Atlantic 10 teams. Melquan Bolding is back.

It might haven taken longer than expected. And it certainly didn't happen overnight. But after Saturday's 74-71 win over St. Joseph's, it is now evident that the sophomore swingman is ready to pick up right where he left off.

Where Bolding left off was scoring 25 points against Nicholls State in the Dukes' season opening 85-62 win. Unfortunately, Bolding would miss the next 13 games for Duquesne after fracturing his wrist in that game.

During this stretch, the Dukes suffered four single-digit losses. It is easy to ask, "What if?" What if Bolding were healthy for these games? Would these single-digit losses perhaps turn into single-digit wins?

When Bolding was finally cleared to play on Jan. 5, Duquesne's fortunes did not immediately change. He did not start the first three games he played. In those three games, he averaged only six points, and the Dukes lost every game.

However, since being inserted back into the starting lineup on Jan. 20, Duquesne has combined to go 2-3. In his second start back from injury, Bolding hit a game-winning 3-pointer to give the Dukes' a 70-69 victory over St. Bonaventure and snap a five-game losing streak.

Bolding's importance to the team was no more evident than on Sunday against St. Joe's, where he scored a team-high 24 points - 17 coming in the first half. Bolding finished the game 9-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range.

"I think I'm pretty close to [a 100 percent]. I shot the ball pretty well tonight," Bolding said with a smile following Sunday's win. "Some days, I'm on. Some days, I'm off. That's just the way basketball is. I'm feeling pretty good though."

With Bolding in the starting lineup, the team shoots 45.4 percent from the field, compared to 40.5 percent when he is out of it. According to head coach Ron Everhart, this is no coincidence.

"Obviously, when Mel is that efficient, we're a good team," Everhart said.

Against the Hawks Sunday, Bolding was more than just efficient. With 7:42 left in the first half and the Dukes down 15-22, Bolding made a 3-pointer that sparked a 12-0 Duquesne run. Bolding scored eight points during the run.

"All of the sudden, all those plays [we convert in practice] started to happen," Everhart said of the run. "We started making the catch. We started making the extra pass. We started getting easy baskets."

And although St. Joe's would come back to make the game close, Bolding and the Dukes made sure that the night belonged to them.

"Bolding told Clark on the way out of the huddle, 'We've got this coach. We got it. Let's go,'" Everhart said. "I like the fact that our guys believed that they were winning this game, and that was very important."

And the numbers prove that with Bolding in the lineup, Duquesne has a better chance of winning any game.

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