PITTSBURGH - Marcus Evans scored a game-high 22 points and Marcus Santos-Silva added 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead VCU (14-6, 5-2) to an 80-74 win over Duquesne (14-6, 5-2) at Palumbo Center.

Tavian Dunn-Martin came off the bench to lead Duquesne, which saw its win streak snapped at five, with a career-high 21 points. Frankie Hughes added 20 for the Dukes who were without starting point guard Sincere Carry (12.1, 3.9, 5.8a, 2.8s in a team-high 32.5 min/g.), who was not in uniform due to knee soreness.

Duquesne fell behind 16-5 early before Frankie Hughes started a 16-0 run with a 3-pointer. Freshman Gavin Bizeau, who entered the game with 12 points in DU's first eight games, scored the last eight of the run with a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a jumper.

The Dukes, who went 8-of-15 from the arc in the first half, got a pair of 3-pointers from Dunn-Martin and Frankie Hughes to build a 38-29 lead at the 2:53 mark.

VCU closed the gap to 41-39 at the half.

Duquesne, which opened the second half 5-of-16, fell behind 57-51 on a Santos-Silva dunk with just under 12 minutes left. Santos-Silva was whistled with for technical foul for hanging on the rim and Dunn-Martin hit both free throws, a layup and two more foul shots to tie it.

The Rams answered with a 7-0 run fueled by a three-point play from Santos-Silva and built their lead to 72-62 on an Evans layup with just under four minutes to go.

Duquesne, which opened the second half 0-of-10 from 3-point, got late 3-pointers from Dunn-Martin and Frankie Hughes to make it a four-point game with one minute left, but Evans hit four free throws down the stretch to seal it.

The Dukes, who ended up 10-of-27 from 3-point, shot 43.9 percent. VCU, which went 3-of-13 from deep, finished at 48.2 percent.

The Rams, who outrebounded the Dukes 45-29, had a 48-28 advantage in points in the paint.

Duquesne completes its three-game homestand when it takes on Rhode Island on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Palumbo Center.

NOTES

• The defeat snapped not only a five-game winning streak but also ended a four-game Atlantic 10 home streak dating back to the final home conference game of last season.
• Tavian Dunn-Martin finished wtih a career high 21 points. His previous career best was 15 vs. Saint Joseph's on Jan. 12.
• VCU held Duquesne's two leading scorers, Eric Williams Jr. (13.2 ppg.) and Michael Hughes (12.1 ppg.) to a combined 17 points.
• Duquesne was without starting point guard Sincere Carry (12.1, 3.9, 5.8a, 2.8s) who was not in uniform due to knee soreness.
• Freshman Gavin Bizeau, came off the bench to score eight points in 16 minutes. Bizeau went 2-of-3 from the 3-point arc. He now has 15 points in 24 minutes in his past two games.
• There were four ties and two lead changes … VCU's largest lead was 11 at 16-5 with 13:08 left in the first half …Duquesne's largest lead was nine at 38-29 with 2:36 to go in the first half … VCU took the lead for good on a Mike'L Simms layup with 9:48 left ... VCU led for 25:55 … Duquesne led for 10:45 … the game was tied for 3:20.