McConnell leads Dukes to win at Rhode Island

T.J. McConnell scored 16 points and added 8 rebounds and 8 assists to lead Duquesne to a 78-71 win at Rhode Island. Sean Johnson scored 16 and three other Dukes reached double-figures in the win.

The win, DU’s first at Ryan Center since 2004, upped the Dukes record to 11-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Rhode Island, which had defeated Duquesne three-straight times at home, dropped to 3-15 and 0-3.

Sean Johnson had 16 points, Mike Talley scored 13 and B.J. Monteiro and Eric Evans added 12 and 10 points respectively for Duquesne.

Jonathan Holton led Rhode Island with a game-high 21 points.

Duquesne, which never trailed in the second half, led 52-50 with 11:12 left before Talley - who scored 11 in 13 second half minutes - scored on a layup and 3-pointer, both off passes from McConnell, to give the Dukes a seven point advantage. Rhody cut it to five twice in the next two minutes before Talley gave DU an eight-point cushion on a 3-pointer with 7:04 to go.

Monteiro, who missed Duquesne’s previous three games while recovering from off the court injuries suffered on Dec. 31, put the Dukes up 10 on a layup with 3:13 to go.

“We had a lot of efficient possessions ... especially late,” said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart of the Dukes who hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final three minutes. “I liked the fact that we had five players in double figures and I really liked our effort.”

Duquesne, despite its late-game accuracy, struggled from the free throw line hitting just 19-of-33 overall. The Dukes outscored the Rams 22-2 in fast break points.

There were five ties and seven lead changes in a first half that ended with Duquesne up 41-39. Rhode Island led 27-20 with 8:15 left before the Dukes went on a 19-6 run to take a 39-33 lead on an Eric Evans layup at the 3:08 mark. URI cut it to two on a Billy Baron 3-pointer with 21 seconds left.

Duquesne, which turned it over seven times in the first 10:33, finished with 14 turnovers. DU turned 17 URI turnovers into 27 points.

The Dukes outshot the Rams 49.1 percent to 40.6 percent.

Duquesne returns home to face Massachusetts on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m.