WASHINGTON, D.C. – St. Bonaventure rallied from 13 points down to shock Duquesne and advance in the Atlantic 10 Tournament via a 64-59 victory Thursday morning at Capital One Arena.

At the heart of the second half rally was Bona’s do-it-all senior captain Melvin Council Jr.

Council, who fittingly was bestowed with the Bonnies Player of the Game WWE legacy belt in postgame, sparked the comeback with a classic Council performance.

He did a bit of everything as the Bonnies erased Duquesne’s cushion of a baker’s dozen with 13 minutes and change to play.

Jumpers, layups, steals, assists, you name it and Council had a hand in it down the stretch.

He finished with 18 points on the day, though his performance extended beyond the box score as he served as a catalyst in the Bonnies turnaround.

Duquesne (13-19) opened the game on a 12-4 sprint, but the Bonnies responded with a 10-0 run of their own as the Dukes went scoreless for over five minutes.

From there, though, the majority of the rest of the half was in control of the Dukes.

Duquesne responded with the next six points over a two-minute span to pull back in front and did not trail the rest of the period.

Despite shooting just 27 percent from the floor in the opening half, Duquesne was able to pull ahead by a 34-25 margin at the break while shutting down Bona’s offensive options in the post.

The Dukes appeared to be in complete control as the Bonnies stumbled out of the gates in the second half, starting the second stanza 1-for-10 from the floor.

While Council ignited the comeback, he was certainly facilitated by teammate Lajae Jones.

Jones drained a corner 3-pointer with three minutes to play, closing the Bonnies within two as part of a 13-1 run to end the game.

Council knotted up the score at 58-apiece with a floater in the lane and 2:19 to go.

A steal from Chance Moore gave the Bonnies the ball and Council drained two at the line for the team’s first lead since mid-way through the first half.

Duquesne, the reigning A-10 champs, could not muster a field goal over the final 4:16 of game time as the Bona defense had the clamps locked in.

Bona’s defense forced 18 turnovers and turned that into 24 points of offense.

Along with his 18 points, Jones also recorded eight rebounds and three steals.

After first half struggles, Noel Brown righted the ship in the second half and finished with nine points, eight boards and three assists.

Maximus Edwards poured in 18 points off the bench for the Dukes.

With the victory the Bonnies will play top-seeded VCU Friday in the quarterfinals at 11:30 a.m. on USA Network.

St. Bonaventure now stands 22-10 on the season.