PITTSBURGH - Marcus Weathers scored a career-high 28 points and tied his career rebound high with 14 to help Duquesne (8-8, 7-7) close out the regular season with an 86-75 Atlantic 10 win over Rhode Island (10-14, 7-10) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

This was the first time since 1995 that the Dukes, who defeated the Rams, 71-69, on Jan. 20 at La Roche University's Kerr Fitness Center, have posted back-to-back wins over URI.

Freshman Chad Baker had 21 points, Tavian Dunn-Martin scored 14 and Michael Hughes added 10 for the Dukes, who set season highs for field goal percentage (.534) and 3-point percentage (.529) in tying their season high point total.

Duquesne, which trailed just once at 2-0, made 10 of its first 14 shots, including six 3-pointers, in jumping out to a 28-18 lead. The Dukes then turned it over four times in just over two minutes to help URI mount an 8-0 run that made it 29-28.

Dunn-Martin hit a pair of 3-pointers, DU's seventh and eighth, to make it 39-30, before the Rams cut it to 42-36 at the half.

Toby Okani scored six quick points out of the break to put the Dukes up 10.

Rhode Island briefly cut it to six before Dunn-Martin buried his fourth 3-pointer and Weathers followed with a dunk to make it 65-54.

The DU lead reached 14 three times, the last coming at 80-66 with a little over three minutes left.

Rhode Island, which got 27 points from Fatts Russell, cut it to seven in the final minute, before Baker hit four free throws for the final margin.

Duquesne will head to Richmond, Va. early next week for the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship (Mar. 3-6). The tournament's first and second rounds as well as quarterfinal and semifinal games will be played at both Richmond's Robins Center and VCU's Siegel Center. The title game will be played on Mar. 14 at University of Dayton Arena.

An official Championship bracket including seedings and game locations will be announced by the conference office following the conclusion of Monday's games.
 
NOTES

• With the win, Duquesne (8-8, 7-7) clinched a .500 Atlantic 10 record. It is the first time in school history DU has finished at .500 or better in three-straight seasons of conference play (DU was 10-8 in 2019 & 11-7 in 2020).
• This is the first time since 1995 that the Dukes have won back-to-back games over Rhode Island (DU won five in a row from Jan. 5, 1994 through Mar. 4 1995).
• Marcus Weathers finished with a career-high 28 points, eclipsing his previous best of 26 reached twice last year vs. Saint Louis. His 14 rebounds tied his career best.
• With his career-high 28 points, Marcus Weathers moved to within four of 1,000 in his three seasons at Duquesne. Weathers has 1,306 career points including the 310 he scored as a freshman at Miami, Ohio.
• Tavian Dunn-Martin's four 3-pointers tied his season high set in game two vs. UNC Greensboro. TDM's 14 points were his most since 18 vs. St. Bonaventure on Jan. 23. His six assists were one shy of his season high.
• Duquesne tied its season high for points set in an 86-62 win at Fordham. DU's field goal percentage (.534) and 3-point percentage (.529) were both season highs. DU's 10 blocks were also a season best.
• The Dukes played a 14-game Atlantic 10 schedule (the traditional schedule is 18 games), evenly split with seven at home and seven on the road. DU faced all but four A-10 schools in the regular season: George Mason, Massachusetts, Saint Louis & VCU.
• Duquesne's largest lead was 14, the last of which came at 80-66 with 2:47 left ... the Dukes trailed once, at 2-0, before Chad Baker put DU up for good on a 3-pointer at the 19:25 mark ... Duquesne led for 39:25 ... Rhode Island led for 0:19.