 led by as many as 15 points in the first half before the Rams (17-3, 9-0) gradually chipped away at the deficit behind the play of E. C. Matthews. A layup by Matthews tied the game at 45 with 6:48 remaining. The game was tied three more times, the last at 58-all on a floater off the glass by Eric Williams with 28.6 seconds left. After a timeout, Rhode Island held the ball for the last shot. Jeff Dowtin passed to Robinson in the left corner and the redshirt senior made only his third 3-pointer of the season. Matthews led Rhode Island with 20 points while Jared Terrell added 12 and Robinson finished with seven. Rene Castro-Cannedy led the Dukes with 16 points and Mike Lewis contributed 12. Duquesne threatened to break open the game in the first half with a 13-1 run, which increased the Dukes' lead to 26-13. Lewis hit a 3-point shot during the spurt while Kellon Taylor scored four points. The Rams were able to slice their deficit to 29-23 at halftime due in large part to five Duquesne turnovers. Matthews stole the ball and drove the court for a layup that accounted for the six-point difference at the half. BIG PICTUREDuquesne: Despite the loss, the fact Duquesne played the Rams tough on their home court (Rhode Island has won 14 consecutive games at the Ryan Center) served notice that the Dukes shouldn't be taken for granted during the rest of their schedule. Rhode Island: Even though the Rams fell behind by 15 points, the fact they were able to overcome that deficit should insure they remain in the Top 25 when next week's poll is announced. UP NEXTDuquesne on Wednesday visits a George Washington team that is in second to last place in the conference. Rhode Island visits Massachusetts on Tuesday. The Rams routed the Minutemen, 73-51, on January 17 at the Ryan Center with Jared Terrell scoring a game-high 24 points.---More college basketball coverage: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and www.twitter.com/-Top25)
Time: 12:00 PM EST Expect a defensive struggle Saturday when No. 24 Rhode Island hosts Duquesne in an Atlantic 10 game. The Dukes (14-7, 5-3 Atlantic 10) and Rams (16-3, 8-0) enter the game as the two top 3-point defensive teams in the conference. Duquesne is allowing opponents to shoot only 28.2 percent from 3-point range and Rhode Island's opponents are shooting only 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. Rhode Island (66.3 points per game allowed) and Duquesne (66.6 points per game) also rank second and third in the conference, respectively, in scoring defense. The Rams have won 11 straight games, not allowing an opponent to eclipse 80 points in that span. Nine of the victims failed to reach 70 points and two were held under 60, including Fordham in a 78-58 Rhode Island win on Wednesday. Andre Berry matched his career high with 20 points as Rhode Island wore down Fordham. Stanford Robinson added 16 points, six rebounds and matched a program record with seven steals for the Rams, who forced Fordham to equal its season high with 23 turnovers and held a 35-11 advantage in points off them." I thought we really pressured them into a ton of turnovers," Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley said. "They're obviously not a very deep team. We felt like we could really turn them over and turn those into transition points." Duquesne has already eclipsed last season's win total (10-22) and conference victory mark (3-15) in their first-year under head coach Keith Dambrot. This is just the fourth true road game for the Dukes, who were the last Division I team to play a road game this season (Jan. 6 at Fordham). They are coming off a 77-73 overtime loss at home against Richmond on Wednesday. It was the third straight home game that went into at least one overtime for the Dukes. Duquesne beat LaSalle 101-94 in three overtimes on Jan. 13 and George Mason 95-89 in two overtimes last Saturday before Wednesday's game. Sophomore guard Mike Lewis II, who leads Duquesne with 16 points a game, was held to 3 of 17 from the field and senior guard Rene Castro-Caneddy (who averages 13 points a game) was held to 1 of 11. Overall, the Dukes shot 29 of 76, or 38.2 percent." We're probably a little tired," Dambrot said. "We drove them the whole night, right? We pretty much got to the rim the whole night, and then overtime we didn't get to the rim. So the only thing I can put my finger on is probably a little tired. We chased them around. Again, that Princeton offense (that Richmond runs) kind of wears you and we have better depth than them, but we didn't use it as much tonight." Dambrot's team faces a Rhode Island team off to its best conference start in program history. The Rams' 11-game winning streak is their longest in 70 years, dating back to a run that began in 1946-47 and ended in 1947-48. The 11-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the country behind only No. 3 Purdue (16 games) and No. 16 St. Mary's (15 games).
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