PITTSBURGH (AP) — Frankie Hughes scored all 20 points of his points in the second half and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer, blocked a shot and grabbed a late rebound all in the final minute Wednesday night and Duquesne rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit to defeat Rhode Island 75-72.
Two free throws by Sincere Carry put the Dukes up 70-69 with 1:10 to play. Tyrese Martin put the Spiders back on top with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at 57.9 seconds.
Hughes had no hesitation on a right wing 3 that put Duquesne on top 73-72 at 43.4 seconds. He then blocked a Martin layup, which led to two free throws by Carry at 19.6 seconds for the final points.
Hughes snatched the rebound on a Richmond miss with 10 seconds to go but the Spiders got a last chance for a 3 at the buzzer after the Dukes threw the ball away on a runout.
That completed the biggest comeback for Duquesne (15-6, 6-2 Atlantic 10) in 21 years for their best start in conference play and overall since the 2010-11 team was 16-5, 8-0.
The Dukes had lost to the Rams (11-9, 4-4) at home eight straight times, dating to 2001.
Carry added 16 points and seven assists for the Dukes, which went 9 of 22 from 3-point range in the second half after a 2 for 11 first half. Hughes had five triples after going 0 for 3 in the first half.
Cyril Langevine had 16 of his 24 points in the first half for Rhode Island, which was hurt by 9-of-19 shooting from the foul line.
Langvine's dunk started an 11-0 run to end the first half that put the Rams up 41-22.
