Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's basketball team earned its third straight victory in come-from-behind fashion Tuesday night, posting a 64-60 win over Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
RMU improved to 7-2 overall on the 2011-12 campaign, while the Dukes dipped to 5-4.
Trailing, 56-51, with 4:38 to play, the Colonials closed the game on a 13-4 run to earn the victory.
A pair of three-pointers ignited the deciding rally, as sophomore guard Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) connected from long range to start the run, while a trifecta from redshirt junior forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) gave the Colonials a 57-56 advantage with 3:14 remaining.
Andre Marhold pushed Duquesne back in front, 58-57, with a layup off an offensive rebound, but the Colonials took the lead for good, 59-58, on a pair of free throws from junior forward Lijah Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner) with just 2:15 to go.
The Dukes had three opportunities to grab the lead back, but Eric Evans suffered a turnover, B.J. Monteiro missed a three-pointer and Jerry Jones missed a layup off an offensive rebound of the Monteiro miss.
RMU pushed its lead to 61-58 with just 30 seconds to play when redshirt junior guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) fed Thompson in the paint, who produced an up-and-under layup.
Sean Johnson would close the Duquesne deficit to 61-60 with a layup with 14 seconds left in regulation, but the Colonials sealed the victory at the free-throw line, getting a pair from Jones with just under 10 seconds remaining and one from redshirt sophomore guard Coron Williams (Midlothian, Va. / Christchurch School) after an Evans three-pointer was off the mark.
The first half featured three ties and eight lead changes, with Duquesne taking a 32-28 advantage into the break by closing the half on a 7-3 spurt.
The Dukes stretched their lead to 37-30 in the opening minutes of the second half thanks to a pair of free throws from T.J. McConnell and a three-pointer from Evans, but a 13-5 surge by Robert Morris tied the game, 43-43, with 11:49 to play.
A three-point play from Monteiro and a three-pointer by Mike Talley quickly pushed Duquesne's lead to 49-43 before the Colonials made their final push to pull out the win.
Thompson led four players in double figures scoring for RMU, compiling 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and going 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. He also added five rebounds and tied a career high with four blocks.
Johnson added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Colonials, while Jones contributed 13 points and five assists and Myers 10 points and six rebounds.
Evans led Duquesne with 16 points, while Monteiro finished with 13 points. RMU held Duquesne's leading scorer, Sean Johnson, to just four points on 2-of-7 shooting before fouling out.
Robert Morris returns home to the Charles L. Sewall Center for a three-game homestand, beginning Thursday, Dec. 8, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Cleveland State.
Notes: Thanks to the win, RMU has posted back-to-back wins over Duquesne for the first time since 1983 and 1984 ... The victory marked just the second for the Colonials at the A.J. Palumbo Center in nine games and the first since 1990 ... The Dukes own a 15-7 advantage in the all-time series ... Robert Morris has held six of its nine opponents so far this season to 60 points or less, including three straight ... The Colonials shot 41.5 percent (22-for-53) from the field while holding Duquesne to a shooting percentage of just 38.1 percent (24-for-63), including 35.5 percent (11-for-31) after halftime ... Both Robert Morris and Duquesne finished with 38 rebounds ... Thompson also finished with four blocks in a 54-51 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) (1/22/11) ... Jones ran his streak of double-figure scoring games dating back to last season to 15 ... Robert Morris is 4-2 this season when four players reach double figures scoring in a game.
