PITTSBURGH - Blake Francis scored a game-high 21 points to lead Richmond (24-7, 14-4) to a 73-62 win over Duquesne (21-9, 11-7) in the Atlantic 10 regular-season finale at PPG Paints Arena.

Tavian Dunn-Martin hit four second-half 3-pointers in leading Duquesne with 17 points. Baylee Steele had 12 points and Marcus Weathers added nine points an a career high-tying 14 rebounds for the Dukes who shot 35 percent from the field and 10-of-25 from the foul line.

Nick Sherod (13-11) and Nathan Cayo (11-11) both had double-doubles for Richmond, who outrebounded Duquesne 50-39. Jacob Gilyard added 10 assists and six steals for the Spiders.

There were six ties and 10 lead changes before Richmond closed the first half on a 10-1 run to take a 37-29 lead. Duquesne, which shot 31 percent and went 3-of-12 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes, missed five consecutive shots, three free throws and turned it over three times during the UR run.

Richmond took its first double-digit lead at 39-29 on a Gilyard layup early in the second half.

The Spiders were up 46-36 when Michael Hughes, who played just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, started an 11-4 run that saw the Dukes pull within three on a Sincere Carry layup off a Dunn-Martin steal.

UR answered with eight-straight points - including a 3-pointer from Sherod - to take an 11-point lead.

Duquesne briefly cut it to seven with 6:32 left, but could get no closer, as Richmond got five-straight points from Sherod to build a 14-point lead with just over two minutes left.

Duquesne will head to Brooklyn for the 2020 Atlantic 10 Championship Mar. 11-15 at Barclays Center as either a No. 5 or No. 6 seed depending on the outcome of tomorrow's A-10 games. Seeding for the Championship will be announced by the Atlantic 10 Conference Saturday night.

NOTES

• Duquesne finished with a school record 11 Atlantic 10 Conference wins (11-7).
• DU's fifth-place A-10 finish (two-way tie) is the program's best since 2011 (t4th) and ties the school's second-best finish in a 14-team A-10.
• Duquesne's 10-of-25 performance from the foul line was its worst in three seasons under Keith Dambrot.
• Richmond outscored Duquesne 40-18 in the paint.
• Senior Baylee Steele, who made his first start as a Duke, hit three 3-pointers in scoring 10 of his 12 points in the first half.
• Marcus Weathers' 14 rebounds tied his career high set earlier this season at Fordham.
• Richmond's largest lead was 14 at the last of which came at 73-59 with 24 seconds left ... Duquesne's largest lead was seven at 11-4 with 15:44 left in the first half ... there were six ties and 10 lead changes before Nick Sherod gave the Spiders the lead for good at 29-28 with 3:54 left in the first half ... Richmond led for 27:20 ... Duquesne led for 8:08.