OLEAN — Junior Buddy Simmons II had a Bonnies career high of 31 points, and the Bonnies (13-8, 2-6) scored 52 second half points, coming back to beat Duquesne (11-10, 3-5), 87-79.

The Bonnies got off to a difficult start on Wednesday night, falling behind by 13 points in the game’s opening minutes. But they fought back, getting the game within reach, and then exploded offensively in the second.

As a team, they shot 16-24 from the field and 7-12 from three in the second, taking advantage of opportunities in transition and looking in sync. The win was made possible by a few players playing above and beyond their roles.

Simmons II was the team’s constant in both halves, finding a number of different ways to score, and putting up one of his most efficient performances as a Bonnie (8-11 from the field, 4-7 from three, 11-12 from the line). He’s been so good from the free throw line this year, after Wednesday night’s performance his percentage went down.

In the first half, the 5’10 guard attacked the Dukes’ much larger bigs, finishing with a floater on three separate occasions. In the second half, he did most of his damage in transition, hitting three threes, and getting to the line, showing off the same fearless mentality.

That mindset was shared by Bonnies’ junior point guard Dasonte Bowen, who had a career high 19 points and added six assists. As usual, he attacked the rim, finishing acrobatically over larger defenders. He was smart, consistently making the right pass.

But the biggest difference, for a player who has quietly thrived amidst the Bonnies’ recent struggles, has been his jump shot. He hit from outside, and repeatedly looked comfortable pulling up in the mid-range. In perhaps his best performance as a Bonnie, it gave the team an entirely new dimension to their offense.

Sophomore Joe Grahovac and freshman Andrew Osasuyi provided instant rim protection and energy coming off the bench, changing the complexion of the game after a slow start.

Grahovac blocked three shots and Osasuyi had two, but the pair altered far more than that, deterring Dukes’ stars senior Tarence Guinyard and junior Jimmie Williams from entering the paint. Offensively, they were efficient and effective — Grahovac had nine points while Osasuyi added seven, and they both had dunks that brought oohs and ahhs out of a Pittsburgh crowd.

The win didn’t dramatically change the Bonnies’ position — almost halfway through the A-10 schedule, the Bonnies sit at 2-6 in conference play, and have an uphill climb remaining looking at the standings. But the road win, over a solid Duquesne team, with the Bonnies playing some of their best basketball of the season in the second half, was a big moment, and a weight off their shoulders.

For the Bonnies, senior Cayden Charles also had nine points, senior Daniel Egwubine had eight, and senior Frank Mitchell led the team with a season high seven assists. Guinyard led the Dukes with 12 points and 12 assists.

The Bonnies will play next at home on Saturday against George Mason at 6:30.