PITTSBURGH - Frankie Hughes scored all of his 20 points - including a career high-tying five 3-pointers - in the second half, to help Duquesne rally from a 19-point deficit to defeat Rhode Island, 75-72, at Palumbo Center.

The 19-point comeback was the best in 21 years by a Duquesne team.

The Dukes, who upped their overall record to 15-6, are now 6-2 in the Atlantic 10, marking just the second time in 42 seasons of A-10 play that Duquesne has won six of its first eight conference games.

Sincere Carry scored 14 of his 16 in the second half for Duquesne. He was joined in double digits by Marcus Weathers and Michael Hughes who had 12 points each. Michael Hughes added nine rebounds and four blocks.

Rhode Island (11-9, 4-4) committed one turnover - and turned 10 Duquesne turnovers into 16 points - in jumping out to a 41-22 halftime lead.

Cyril Langevine scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first half for the Rams, who held the Dukes to a tie for their lowest point total in a half under second-year head coach Keith Dambrot.

Duquesne scored the first seven points out of the half on a 3-pointer by Tavian Dunn-Martin and a pair of baskets from Weathers to pull within 12.

DU made it 50-42 on a Frankie Hughes 3-pointer with 12:30 left. Carry, who finished with seven assists, found Hughes for another 3-pointer and Hughes added a third 40 seconds later to make it 56-52.

Lamar Norman Jr. tied it on a steal and dunk off a URI turnover and Frankie Hughes gave the Dukes their first lead since 14-12 on his fourth 3-pointer of the half that made it 59-56.

There were seven lead changes, with neither team leading by more than three, before Frankie Hughes buried his fifth 3-pointer to give the Dukes a 73-72 lead with 43 seconds left.

Michael Hughes then blocked a Tyrese Martin layup attempt, setting up a pair of free throws by Carry.

URI's Fatts Russell had a layup attempt swallowed by Michael Hughes at the rim with 10 seconds left. Duquesne gained possession, only to see Rhody's Jeff Dowtin intercept a long pass with four seconds on the clock. Dowtin was able to advance the ball into the frontcourt, but his 3-point attempt at the horn was off the mark.

Duquesne turned the table to outscore the Rams 20-7 off turnovers in the second 20 minutes.

DU's 53 second-half points tied the Dambrot Era high.

Duquesne hits the road to face Dayton on Saturday, February 2 at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

NOTES

• This was the fifth time this season that Duquesne rallied from a double-digit deficit to win. The Dukes are now 7-4 this season when trailing at the half.
• The 19-point comeback tied the best by a Duquesne team in the past 21 years. The last came in an 88-82 win over Radford at the Palumbo Center on Dec. 6, 1997 (DU trailed 47-28 with 18:31 left in that game). The Dukes were down 41-22 at the half tonight.
• The win ended a streak of eight consecutive Rhode Island victories at Palumbo Center. It was DU's first home win over the Rams since Jan. 10, 2001 (83-69).
• Duquesne's 6-2 conference start is its best since 2010-11 (8-0). It is just the second time in 42 seasons of Atlantic 10 Conference play that the Dukes have six wins in their first eight league games.
• DU's 15-6 record is the school's best 21-game mark since the 2010-11 team opened 16-5.
• This was Frankie Hughes' second consecutive 20-point game, which is his Duquesne high. This is the fourth time he has hit five 3-pointers in a game (twice while at Missouri and earlier this season at Richmond).
• Duquesne's 22 first half points tied the fewest in a half by a Keith Dambrot-coached Duquesne team. The 53 second half points tied the most in a half by a Dambrot-coached Duquesne team.
• There were eight ties and 12 lead changes … Rhode Island's largest lead was 19 (41-22) at the half …Duquesne's largest lead was three on two occasions, the last of which was the final margin … Duquesne took the lead for good on Frankie Hughes' 3-pointer with 43 seconds left ... Rhode Island led for 29:54 … Duquesne led for 4:38 … the game was tied for 5:28 ... in last year's 61-58 buzzer-beating loss at No. 24 (AP) last season, Duquesne led for 29:59.