Duquesne Erases 19 Point Deficit To Beat Rhode Island, 75-72

PITTSBURGH — As the buzzer hit zeroes, Duquesne sophomore forward Frankie Hughes offered a fist pump, and received hugs from teammates.

Duquesne had just overcome a 19-point deficit to defeat Rhode Island by a 75-72 score Wednesday at the Palumbo Center. Hughes led Duquesne with 20 points and Sincere Carry added 16 points and seven assists after missing the last game due to injury. Cyril Langevine led Rhode Island with a career-high 24 points.

Duquesne basketball on Pittsburgh Sports Now is sponsored by The Summit Academy: setting young men on the path to a better future.

Duquesne is 6-2 in conference play for the first time since the 2010-11 season and is now 7-4 when trailing at halftime.

The game-winning points were scored off Carry’s hand from the free throw line and the advantage was maintained with two key defensive stands down the stretch.

Duquesne committed 10 first half turnovers while Rhode Island had one. Additionally, Rhode Island sophomore guard Fatts Russell is generously listed as five-foot-10 and he matched his career high of six rebounds in that first half.

Perhaps the most frustrating first half play came with Duquesne down 16 points, and Hughes, fired an alley oop in Eric Williams Jr’s general direction but when the pass was well to the left and off the mark, all the former could do was bury his head.

Rhode Island led 41-22 at halftime as Duquesne scored its lowest first half point total of the season.

Duquesne opened the second half on a 7-0 run, opting to go for more full-court pressure, which forced Rhode Island to call a timeout just 1:41 into the half. The run continued as Duquesne was able to make seven second-half three-point shots and was able to come back from down as many as 19 points to take the lead.

Down the stretch, these two teams battled and Hughes made critical threes down the stretch which allowed Duquesne to build a lead with inside of a minute to play in regulation.

With Duquesne up by one point, Michael Hughes’s block off Tyrese Martin’s shot and a Marcus Weathers rebound allowed the Dukes to finish this game in the win column.

NOW THAT’S WHAT YOU CALL A COMEBACK. 👀 #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/HKTdm7hZLa

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) January 31, 2019

Duquesne will next travel to face Dayton in a Saturday afternoon contest which will tip off at 2 p.m.