Dukes Hold Back Robert Morris for 86-70 Win

No one-sided contest when the NEC's Robert Morris and the A-10's Duquesne meet. Last season's game went down to the buzzer with the Colonials pulling out a 73-72 victory on their hardwood. Friday night, the Dukes pulled away from a gutzy RMU squad to grab their eighth win of the season, 86-70, at the Palumbo Center.

Box Score

Kojo Mensah had a game-high 22 points and three steals. Aaron Jackson added 16, Reggie Jackson 14 and Shawn James 13 points for the 8-3 Duquesne squad. Reggie dished out a career-high nine assists against a single turnover and tied Damian Saunders for the game best of seven rebounds. Saunders had four of Duquesne's seven blocks; James, the league-leader, was credited with one.

Couple other things happening in tonight's game. It was the first game between the two Pittsburgh area teams with the Moon Township quintet coached by Mike Rice Jr., the son of former Duquesne star and head coach Mike Rice Sr. And the Dukes wore 1970-era jerseys, as part of the salute to the 1976-77 NCAA tournament team, the last time Duquesne played in the Big Dance.

Robert Morris (8-4) came out strong, leading most of the first half until a pair of free throws by Reggie Jackson put the Dukes on top, 19-18, with just under nine minutes left in the opening period.

While DU extended the first half edge to as many as six, the Colonials kept fighting back to get within one (30-29) and were just two behind, 39-37, at the break.

Jimmy Langhurst's trey at 16:46 of the second half put Robert Morris back on top, 44-43. Duquesne finally got the lead five minutes later at 52-51 on Aaron Jackson's three-pointer which started a 17-5 run for a 66-56 edge.

The Colonials, who were led by Tony Lee and Jimmy Chappelle's 17 points apiece, fought back but couldn't match Duquesne's energy with their two-platoon (aka 10-40) system, as the Dukes stretched the final margin to 16 (86-70).

Lee also had team highs of six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Duquesne was cold at the start, hitting just 26.7 percent from the floor midway through the first period and 45.5% at the half. RMU held the hot hand, hitting 53.8 percent in that stanza which included 66.7% from beyond the arc (6-9).

Second half defense was the key for the Dukes. They held Robert Morris to 33.3% overall while shooting 65.4 percent in the final 20 minutes.

The Dukes host first-year Division I program South Carolina Upstate (2-10) on Sunday, December 30th at 5:00 p.m., and close the non-conference schedule in Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008, against Bowling Green (4-6) at 7:00 p.m.