Pittsburgh, Pa. - B.J. Monteiro's floater in the lane with 1:25 to play gave Duquesne the lead for good as the Dukes slipped past the Robert Morris University men's basketball team Saturday night, 59-54, at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
The Colonials fell to 3-5 overall with the defeat, while Duquesne improved to 7-3.
Redshirt freshman guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) had given RMU a 54-53 advantage with 1:57 remaining with a three-pointer, but the Colonials did not score the rest of the contest, missing their last five shots from the field.
Eric Evans would hit a jumper with 35 seconds to go to increase Duquesne's lead to 57-54, and Robert Morris had a chance to tie the game, but freshman Karon Abraham's (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) three-pointer rimmed out.
Monteiro would seal the win for the Dukes with a pair at the free-throw line with 17 seconds to play.
The Colonials stormed back in the second half thanks to the hot shooting of Abraham, who finished with a game-high 18 points.
Down nine, 34-25, at the 16:40 mark of the second half, Abraham drilled three straight from beyond the arc to pull RMU within two, 36-34.
Damian Saunders would halt the run with a layup to give the Dukes a 38-34 edge, but Robert Morris tied the game, 38-38, when Jones converted a three-point play with a jumper and free throw after a foul by Sean Johnson.
RMU took its first lead since early in the contest, 40-38, thanks to a fastbreak layup from senior guard Mezie Nwigwe (Hyattsville, Md. / High Point), and the Colonials stretched their advantage to 43-38 after a three-pointer from senior guard Jimmy Langhurst (Willard, Ohio / Willard) with 9:43 remaining.
Duquesne responded by scoring the next seven points to take a 45-43 lead, grabbing the lead back with a trifecta from Monteiro. Abraham would answer Monteiro's three-pointer with his six of the game to push Robert Morris back in front, 46-45, but six straight points gave the Dukes a 51-46 cushion at the 4:58 mark of the second half.
The back and forth affair continued, as an 8-2 surge by the Colonials, which was capped by the three-pointer from Jones, gave RMU a one-point lead, 54-53, with under two minutes to play before Duquesne used its final surge to pull out the victory.
Abraham converted six of his 10 shots from the field, including a 6-for-9 performance from long range, to lead the Robert Morris with 18 points, while Jones contributed 12 points.
Senior forward Rob Robinson (Waldorf, Md. / Globe Institute of Technology) chipped in with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and also finished with nine rebounds, three assists and a block.
Monteiro finished with 17 points to pace the Dukes, while Saunders recorded a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds. He also blocked four shots.
RMU converted just 35.6 percent (21-for-59) of its shots from the field but held Duquesne to just 36.8 percent shooting (21-for-57), including a 5-for-24 performance (20.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Dukes held a 51-36 edge on the glass.
The Colonials continue a two-game road swing Tuesday, Dec. 15, with a 7:00 p.m. tip at Henry J. Goodman Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, against Cleveland State.
