Duquesne beats Rhode Island in Atlantic 10 opener to run winning streak to 4

After a rough start to the season, Duquesne’s basketball fortunes are turning.

Jahsean Corbett totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds and three other Dukes scored in double figures as Duquesne opened Atlantic 10 Conference play Tuesday with a 67-55 New Year’s Eve victory over Rhode Island at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, its fourth consecutive victory.

More important, it represented a successful beginning to the A-10 schedule for the Dukes, who last season overcame an 0-5 start in conference play to win just their second A-10 Tournament championship.

“It’s just good to win. It’s good to protect our home court,” said Dru Joyce III, Duquesne’s first-year coach, who was the Dukes’ associate head coach last season during that rough patch that preceded the team’s magical run to the NCAA Tournament.

Tre Dinkins III and David Dixon added 11 points apiece and Cam Crawford finished with 10 for Duquesne (6-8, 1-0), which looks to continue its hot streak on Saturday at Davidson. The Wildcats dropped a 69-57 decision at George Mason in their A-10 opener.

“We had an opportunity for the conference opener at home,” Joyce said. “The main objective is to make sure you come out of here with a win. Now it’s a standings game. The nonconference was a conglomerate of teams you play from the east, from the west, from the north … but now, there’s a certain format and standings that go with conference play, where every win you can get is a big one.”

Duquesne has gone 6-2 over the past five weeks after a deflating 0-6 start under Joyce, and the Dukes’ defense is the primary reason for the profound turnaround.

“It’s how we’ve been practicing,” Duquesne’s Kareem Rozier said. “We’ve been bringing it, competing in practice. We’ve been bringing it, bringing it, bringing it.”

On a day when former Duquesne great Sihugo Green was announced as part of an eight-man group to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the Dukes used a balanced scoring attack and another stifling defensive effort to shut down high-flying Rhode Island.

The Rams (11-2, 0-1) entered the game leading the A-10 in scoring offense (85.7 ppg), but by a wide margin they were held to their lowest point total of the season.

“Rhode Island has been playing at one of the fastest paces in the country. They’ve been highly efficient on offense,” Joyce said. “The worst thing you can do is give them second chances at the rim. We held them to four offensive rebounds. That’s an unbelievable number. On the flip side, we attacked the glass. We held down both ends. We dominated on the glass.”

Duquesne outrebounded Rhode Island, 41-30, with Dixon and Jakub Necas complementing Corbett’s tenacious double-digit effort with six boards apiece.

Dixon also blocked three shots for the Dukes, who have held their past nine opponents each to less than 67 points. In seven games during December, teams scored an average of just 55.8 points per game against Duquesne.

“It’s our culture. It’s part of our identity when it comes to style of play,” Joyce said. “We want to compete on the defensive end every night. We want to be tough and disciplined. Our guys are feeding off the stops, and it’s helping us, offensively. Guys are taking pride. There’s a level of responsibility and accountability that’s happening on the court, which wasn’t there at the beginning of the year.”

Duquesne, sparked by an 11-0 run midway through the first half, held a 34-26 halftime advantage.

The Dukes led by as many as 16 points (62-46) in the second half before Rhode Island, coached by Blackhawk High School product Archie Miller, pulled within 62-54 with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left on a driving layup by Sebastian Thomas, who paced the Rams with 20 points.

Corbett’s 3-point shot pushed Duquesne’s lead back to double digits with 2:40 remaining, and the Dukes held on.

“Seeing their record, seeing the way play, coach had the game plan for us just to make life difficult for them,” Dixon said.

It was Dixon’s fiery first-half skirmish with the Rams’ Jaden House that led to technical fouls on both players and fired up the home crowd of 2,435.

Soon after, chants of “Let’s Go, Dukes!” resonated in the arena, and Duquesne responded by turning up its defensive intensity, though Rhode Island recovered in time to make it an eight-point game at the half.

“Even though we played a good first half of defense, that last 4-minute stretch, we gave some things away,” Joyce said. “That segment could easily have moved right into the second half. But we talked about it (at halftime). I just challenged the group, ‘Listen, we know what the mistakes were. We know where we can be better. What do y’all want to do? Can we rise to the occasion and become better?’

“Our group was accepting of that challenge.”