St. Bonaventure’s LaDarien Griffin blocks a Duquesne shot Wednesday night. P-J photo by Tim Frank

ST. BONAVENTURE — Defensive struggle, free throw shooting contest — call it whatever you want, but it still resulted in another St. Bonaventure win.

Wednesday at the Reilly Center, it took all 40 minutes for the Bonnies to pull out a 73-67 win over Duquesne, earning their ninth straight win.

St. Bonaventure (21-6) now has its longest win streak in 48 years and, more importantly, remained in a tie for second place in the Atlantic 10 with a mark of 11-4.

All-American candidate Jaylen Adams led all players with 24 points and five assists. Senior guard Matt Mobley was limited to 5 points, but teammates Amadi Ikpeze and Idris Taqqee delivered. Ikpeze, the improving sophomore center, recorded the first double-double of his career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Taqqee scored 11 points and grabbed eight boards. Courtney Stockard delivered right on his season average with 12 points.

A sure sign of a high-quality team is one that can win without playing its best. Credit Duquesne for some stingy defense as well, but the Bonnies’ defense prevailed on a night when its offense often stalled.

A game featuring 14 ties and 10 lead changes had the teams deadlocked at 56-56 with 5:01 left. Free throws by Ikpeze and Adams 13 seconds apart put the Bonnies in front 60-56 at the 3:36 mark. It was a lead the home team would not relinquish, but not without some nervous moments.

Duquesne pulled within 63-60, but Stockard’s turnaround jumper with 1:58 left gave the Bonnies some breathing room at 65-60. Duquesne’s Tarin Smith, however, answered with a 3-pointer at the 1:35 mark.

Adams got in the lane and canned a mid-range jumper with 1:07 remaining to make it a 67-63 score. After the teams traded missed shots, Idris Taqqee got free for a breakaway dunk with 24 seconds left that gave the Bonnies a 69-63 edge and essentially sealed the outscore.

The Bonnies made only 10 second-half field goals, going 0 for 4 from 3-point range, but made up for it by drawing fouls. St. Bonaventure went 21 of 25 at the free throw line in the second half, including a string of 20 straight to start before they missed.

Duquesne’s 34.9 field goal percentage was the fifth-lowest shooting percentage the Bonnies allowed this season, and the 11th time they have held a team under 40 percent shooting. St. Bonaventure is 11-0 in those games. While the Bonnies went an uncharacteristic 2 of 12 from 3-point range, they held the Dukes to 5 of 22 (23 percent) from behind the arc.

St. Bonaventure will travel to VCU this Saturday for an 8 p.m. tip-off. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.

NOTES: The Bonnies won their 12th straight game in the Reilly Center, where they are now 12-1 this season. … While St. Bonaventure did not clinch a top-four finish in the A-10, it moved a step closer. The Bonnies and Davidson are tied for second place, three games clear of VCU and Saint Louis, who are tied for fourth place at 8-7.

DUQUESNE (67)

Verhoeven 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 2-5 0-0 4, Williams 7-15 4-6 19, Lewis 1-9 2-2 5, Castro-Caneddy 5-15 4-4 15, Taylor 0-1 3-4 3, James 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 4-6 3-4 11, Smith 3-11 2-3 10. Totals 22-63 18-23 67.

ST. BONAVENTURE (73)

Stockard 4-6 4-5 12, Ikpeze 3-6 7-7 13, Taqqee 4-6 3-4 11, Adams 7-14 9-9 24, Mobley 1-10 2-2 5, Ngalakulondi 0-0 0-0 0, Griffin 1-2 2-4 4, Kaputo 1-1 0-0 2, Brockington 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 21-46 29-33 73.

Halftime–32-32. 3-Point Goals–Duquesne 5-22 (Smith 2-6, Williams 1-5, Castro-Caneddy 1-5, Lewis 1-6), St. Bonaventure 2-12 (Adams 1-4, Mobley 1-8). Fouled Out–Robinson, Brown. Rebounds–Duquesne 28 (Williams 8), St. Bonaventure 32 (Ikpeze 10). Assists–Duquesne 9 (Smith 4), St. Bonaventure 10 (Adams 5). Total Fouls–Duquesne 26, St. Bonaventure 19. A–5,089 (5,480).