Dec. 12, 2009

Box Score | Photo Gallery

PITTSBURGH - B.J. Monteiro scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, including four in the final 1:25, as Duquesne pulled out a tough 59-54 win over crosstown rival Robert Morris at the Palumbo Center.

The win upped the Dukes' record to 7-3. Robert Morris, which hasn't won at Duquesne since 1990, dropped to 3-5.

Damian Saunders added 10 points, a game-high 17 rebounds and four blocks and Sean Johnson came off the bench to add a season-high 10 points for the Dukes who have won 10 of the past 12 meetings and lead the series 15-5.

Freshmen Karon Abraham and Velton Jones led Robert Morris with 18 and 12 points respectively.

Duquesne led 34-25 with 16:40 left before Abraham, who finished 6-of-9 from the arc, hit three 3-pointers over the next 1:35 to pull the Colonials within two.

RMU took its first lead of the half on a Mezie Nwigwe layup with 11:57 to go. Robert Morris built its lead to five on a Jimmy Langhurst 3-pointer before the Dukes went on a 7-0 run to go up 45-43 on a Monteiro 3-pointer with 8:01 left.

Velton Jones put the Colonials back on top at 54-53 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:52 to go. Monteiro answered with a driving bucket and Evans followed with another score off the dribble to give the Dukes a three-point lead.

A 3-point attempt by Abraham went halfway down and popped out with 23 seconds left as Monteiro emerged with the ball and was fouled with 17.3 seconds on the clock. Monteiro, who entered the game shooting 48 percent from the foul line, hit both free throws to give DU its final five-point cushion.

"I loved our kids' resolve," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "They made the plays down the stretch. We got stops when we needed them. We also got a couple of rebounds late in the game that we weren't getting in the first half."

There were three lead changes in a first half that ended with the Dukes up 27-21 despite shooting just 25 percent. The six-point margin was the largest by either team in the opening 20 minutes.

For the game, the Dukes shot 36.8 percent, but managed to limit Robert Morris to 35.6 percent.

"Thank God we rebounded and thank God we defended," said Everhart. "They guarded us on every single possession and we had to earn every bucket we got."

DU outrebounded RMU 51-36.

Duquesne returns to action on Wednesday for a women's/men's doubleheader against Canisius (4-4). The women's game begins at 5:00 with the men to follow at 7:30 p.m.

NOTES
• Duquesne has held nine of its first 10 opponents under 40 percent from the field ... Robert Morris finished at 35.6 percent (21-of-59) ... Duquesne shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) ... DU, which went 5-of-24 from the 3-point arc, had eight assists and 16 turnovers.

• Damian Saunders, who began the week ranked third nationally in rebounds per game, finished with 17... it was his sixth game this season with 15 or more boards ... Saunders added 10 points for his seventh double-double of the season.

• Duquesne has won its past seven non-conference games at the Palumbo Center ... DU is now 14-3 in non-conference home games at the Palumbo Center over the past three seasons.

• The Dukes got a season-high 18 points from their bench in the form of freshman Sean Johnson (10 points) and redshirt freshman Rodrigo Peggau (8 points) ... the previous high was 10 (vs. Binghamton and at West Virginia).

• The win was DU's tenth in the past 12 games versus Robert Morris ... Duquesne now leads the overall series 15-5.