Feb. 11, 2007
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PITTSBURGH (AP) -Joe Mbang came off the bench to score 19 of his 22 points before halftime and hot-shooting Rhode Island halted Duquesne's longest conference winning streak in 26 years by outrunning the Dukes in a 111-87 victory Sunday.
Mbang, a backup who had scored in single digits in four of his previous five games, was 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point line in the first half and finished 6-of-9 as the Rams ended Duquesne's five-game winning streak. The Dukes haven't won six in a row since the 1980-81 season.
The Rams (15-10, 8-3 in Atlantic 10), rebounding from a 77-55 loss to Massachusetts that temporarily dislodged them from first place in the conference, moved back into a first-place tie with Xavier (18-7, 8-3). Massachusetts (17-7, 7-3) fell out of the lead by losing to Temple 98-89 on Sunday.
Will Daniels led the Rams' five double-figure scorers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting as Rhode Island shot 60.5 percent (46-of-76) overall and 50 percent (12-of-24) from 3-point range. Jimmy Baron, the son of the Rams' coach, added 18 points and Kahiem Seawright scored 15. Aaron Jackson had 17 points and Kieron Achara 16 for Duquesne, which shot only 34.1 percent (30-of-88).
Duquesne (10-12, 6-5), trying to get to .500 this late in a season for the first time since 1993-94, had won five of six and its last five since switching to a fast-breaking, full court-pressure style that keyed upsets of teams such as Xavier and Dayton. The Dukes had scored 222 points in winning their previous two games at St. Bonaventure and La Salle.
Rhode Island successfully countered the Dukes' trapping, pressure defense with its excellent shooting, with Mbang hitting three 3-pointers during a pivotal 15-2 run midway through the first half that turned a 26-24 deficit into a 39-28 lead.
With Rhode Island shooting so well, the Dukes - who have overcome double-digit deficits to win six times - never could mount a comeback. The Rams went on another run, 17-4, early in the second half to seize a 78-52 lead.
There was a near-sellout crowd of 5,115. The line for tickets stretched around the A.J. Palumbo Center at gametime.
