Box Score

The loss was just the third in the past 13 games for the Rams.

Aaron Jackson added 17 points for the Dukes who shot .528.

Jimmy Baron hit a tournament record-tying eight 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 26 points for Rhode Island.

There were 13 ties and seven lead changes before Bill Clark drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Dukes a 72-69 lead with 3:31 left. Jackson broke Norm Nixon’s school record with his 179th assist of the season on the play.

Duquesne upped its lead to five on a pair of Aaron Jackson free throws with 2:18 on the clock before Baron cut it to two with a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left. Jason Duty hit a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Duquesne briefly led by seven early in the second half, while Rhode Island’s largest lead was two on a number of occasions.

DU outscored URI 32-30 in the paint despite being outrebounded 43-29. The Dukes went 10-of-24 from the 3-point arc with five different players converting at least once.

Rhode Island finished 8-of-23 from the arc with Baron accounting for all eight field goals.

NOTES

• The victory clinched DU’s first 20-win season since 1981 (20-10) and second since 1972 (20-5)
• It marked the first time Duquesne won two A-10 Championship games since 1985 when the No. 8 Dukes defeated No. 9 Penn State and No. 1 West Virginia before losing to No. 4 Rutgers in the semifinal at Piscataway, N.J.
• This was Duquesne’s first win over Rhode Island under Ron Everhart, leaving Richmond is the only A-10 team DU has yet to defeat since Everhart took over at Duquesne prior to the 2006-07 season