Fordham knocks off Duquesne on go-ahead 3-pointer

Duquesne’s latest visit to Fordham’s historic Rose Hill Gymnasium in New York on Sunday left the Dukes in a bitter mood for their return trip to Pittsburgh.

Again.

Josh Rivera’s 3-point shot with 24 seconds left erased a 1-point deficit and gave Fordham a 65-63 victory, the Rams’ first in the Atlantic 10 this season and the first for interim coach Tray Woodall, the former Pitt guard who played for the Panthers from 2008-13.

It was Duquesne’s fourth consecutive loss to the Rams at Rose Hill Gym, second only to Northeastern’s Matthews Arena as the oldest Division I basketball facility.

Rivera led Fordham (9-11, 1-6) with 16 points. Japhet Medor added 14, Romad Dean scored 12 and Jackie Johnson III — the former Duquesne guard — finished with 10.

Johnson, Fordham’s leading scorer (19.1 ppg), was coming off three consecutive outputs of at least 20 points, including a career-high 36 in a 120-118 triple-overtime loss to Massachusetts on Jan. 15.

He played one season at Duquesne as a freshman in 2021-22, starting 11 games in 30 appearances while averaging 9.5 points, before spending two seasons at UNLV then transferring to Fordham for this season.

It was a defensive struggle from the start as both teams tried to build momentum. The biggest lead was Fordham’s six-point, 59-53 advantage with 6:29 left.

Duquesne (9-11, 4-3) held Johnson and Medor, Fordham’s top two scorers, to a combined 6-for-22 shooting (21.4%).

The Dukes went back in front 63-62 on a tip-in by Cam Crawford with 1:35 to play, then regained possession. But Tre Dinkins III turned the ball over, setting up Rivera’s winning shot.

“It’s not just this way at Rose Hill,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “If you come to the (UPMC) Cooper Fieldhouse, it’ll be the same way. If we meet in D.C. (in the A-10 Tournament in March), you might as well be geared up for it.”

With Duquesne ahead by a point, Johnson fed an open Rivera deep in the left corner for the go-ahead shot for Fordham with 24 seconds left.

Dinkins’ jumper in the lane in the closing seconds for Duquesne rolled off the rim, and Fordham gained control as time expired.

“Got a good shot, had a chance at a tip-in, almost grabbed another one,” Joyce said. “That’s all you can ask for. Tre Dinkins has been effective for us. He was making shots in the second half. He got in the lane. There’s nothing else that we want him to do, right?

Crawford led Duquesne with 13 points. Dinkins added 11.

The Dukes shot 44.6% overall and limited Fordham to 39.2. But the Rams converted 20 of 24 free throws and overwhelmed Duquesne in rebounding 41-27.

Duquesne made just 8 of 14 free-throw attempts.

“Would I loved to have drawn something up (on the final play) that’s going to result in a wide-open 3 or a wide-open layup?” Joyce said. “I don’t think any good defensive team is giving that up. But I think the look that we generated through our penetration — they defended well — still got us a shot in front of the rim.

“It’s vice-versa. They ran a play, we defended the play, they were stuck. They found something at the end. They turn up and get a corner 3. It’s a make-or-miss lead. That’s basketball in general. (Rivera) had an attempt, he made it. He had a clean look at it. Also a tip-in for us that we didn’t get to go.”

Woodall, who normally serves as Fordham’s associate head coach, was substituting in his second game for coach Keith Urgo, who is serving an NCAA-imposed four-game suspension for recruiting violations.

It was the ninth time in the past 13 meetings that the teams have settled a game by a single-digit spread, including five of the past 11 by five points or fewer.

“Our energy and effort was there,” Joyce said, “but we had some lapses that you can’t have on the road.”

Following a run of seven wins in eight games, Duquesne has lost two in a row ahead of its next game Wednesday night at Saint Joseph’s. The Dukes outlasted the Hawks, 85-81, in overtime Jan. 8 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.