Jalen Jenkins and Marquise Moore did what seniors on Senior Night are supposed to do. Both made signature contributions Wednesday against Duquesne, combining for 21 points and 19 rebounds.
   There was the 6-7 Jenkins blocking 6-11 Darius Lewis' layup attempt to start a fast break, rebounding an ensuing missed shot to extend a possession that led to a Kamari Newman jumper to trim Duquesne's second half lead to three points. There was the 6-2 Moore, the A-10 rebounding leader, grabbing a missed shot and muscling in a layup in traffic.
    The Patriots needed contributions from underclassmen to leave EagleBank Arena with a 63-62 victory that wasn't sealed until Duquesne missed two layups in the last four seconds. Otis Livingston II had 12 points and five assists while fellow sophomore Jaire Grayer added eight points and five rebounds.
 "We all love Jalen, 'Quise and Myles (Tate) and what they do for our program," Livingston said. "We didn't want them to leave here with a loss. We wanted to send them out right with a W."
    The win stopped a three-game losing streak for the Patriots (19-11, 9-8 A-10), who had surrendered 59 points off 44 turnovers during that stretch. On Wednesday Mason had just seven turnovers and outscored the Dukes 18-5 on points off turnovers.
   "When you don't turn the ball over a lot, it makes it easier to have more possessions and it cuts the other team's chances of getting transition points or easy points," said Livingston, who had only one turnover. "Not having as many turnovers tonight was a big factor in helping us win."
  Mason coach Dave Paulsen was relieved but hardly ecstatic with the result that left the Patriots one game shy of a 20-win season after three consecutive 20-loss seasons.
   "We did just enough to get the win," said Paulsen, in his second year in Fairfax. "But the message in the locker room was that was a pretty poor performance. And that was a reflection of one of the worst practices (Tuesday) and the lack of focus on our shoot-around (Wednesday).
    "You can have some days when you don't shoot the ball well but energy and focus -- I was disappointed in our effort. To me it's not about wins and losses, though certainly we want to win every time we play. It's about excellence and being as good as you can be, competing against the game and not an opponent. We were lucky to escape this one, but I was really disappointed in our effort."
   For much of the game, the Mason fans had more threes than the team. When a fan hit a layup, foul shot and three-pointer to earn $200 during a timeout promotion, the team was 0-for-10 from beyond the arc. The Patriots missed their first 13 three-point attempts before Grayer hit two and Newman one in the team's final five attempts from beyond the arc.
   "I think the big thing is that we allowed missing shots to sap our defensive energy and our emotion," Paulsen said. "If your energy level is contingent upon making shots, then you're not going to be very good. The energy level is a constant; that's something that you can control. Making shots, missing shots --  we can't control that."
     Jenkins ended his last game at EBA with 13 points, including two free throws with 1:56 left for a 63-60 lead, and six rebounds. Moore finished with eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Myles Tate, a walk-on who transferred from Div. II Mars Hill, did not play.
   But the 5-7 guard from Ashburn got plenty of props from Paulsen, who praised him in an on-line column, and his fellow seniors, all appreciating the contributions of the scout team point guard.
   "He's got to be one of the best walk-ons in the country," Moore said.
  The Patriots play at VCU Saturday and then head next week to Pittsburgh for the A-10 Tournament, where the goal is to get enough wins to earn a berth in a post-season tourney.
   "We're going to miss them a lot," Paulsen said of the senior trio. "Hopefully we'll keep them around a lot longer, ok?"