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Duquesne Wins First Road Game 72-55 At Rhode Island Higgins Hits 20 Points; Dokes/Palmer Add 34 Points & 15 Rebounds

Higgins has scored 44 points in last two Duquesne wins.

Jan. 21, 2004

Kingston, R.I. - Jack Higgins scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Duquesne to a 72-55 win at Rhode Island. The win, the sixth in DU's last eight games, evened the Dukes' record at 8-8 and also lifted Duquesne above .500 in conference play at 3-2.

Duquesne jumped on the Rams early, forcing URI to miss 12 of its first 15 shots in building a 25-10 lead. The Dukes led by 12 with just over a minute left before Rhode Island closed the half with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 35-30 on a Dustin Hellenga 3-pointer with :02 left.

URI took its first lead of the game at 38-37 on a Hellenga layup with 16:20 left. The lead changed hands four times in the next three minutes before Higgins took over. With the score tied 43-43, Higgins scored DU's next 14 points in a span of 3:54 to make the score 57-47. Higgins, who connected on 6-of-8 shots in the second half, hit two of his four 3-pointers during the outburst. Rhode Island managed to briefly cut the lead to seven before Elijah Palmer, who added 19 points for the Dukes, hit a 3-pointer to make the score 60-50 with 6:34 left. URI would get no closer the rest of the way as the Dukes closed the game with a 12-5 run.

Ron Dokes hit 7-of-9 shots from the field in scoring 15 for the Dukes. Dokes, who made all five of his first half field goal attempts, added a game-high 8 rebounds. Bryant McAllister handed out a game-high 6 assists for Duquesne.

Hellenga led Rhode Island with 15 points. DU, which shot 54.7 percent for the game, limited the Rams to an opponent season low 29.5 percent shooting. URI's 55 points were also the fewest by the DU opponent this season.

Duquesne stays on the road and will take on George Washington (9-7, 3-2) on Saturday, January 24 at 4 p.m. at the Colonials' Smith Center. The game will be televised on Atlantic 10 TV network.

NOTES

The 17-point margin of victory tied Duquesne's largest margin in a conference road game set in a 79-62 win at Rhode Island on Jan. 19, 1994
Dokes scored 10 of DU's first 18 points in the first 10:47 of the game
DU held URI scoreless for the first 4:48 of the game.

QUOTES

Duquesne head coach Danny Nee

"When Rhode Island made their run, we didn't have a meltdown. I just let them play. Its like having a race horse, going around the turn and knowing you have horse left. I think our kids are tired of losing. They're resilient. It was a rough game and our guys handled it well."

Duquesne senior center Ron Dokes

"We were focused. We watched film of the loss up here last year, how we hung around and lost it at the end. We didn't want that feeling again. We wanted to give them our best shot. We've learned to stay poised. We just believe in each other. That is what we've really bought into." On Jack Higgins' performance: "He brings his lunch pail and hard hat to each game. We just screen for him and get him open."

Duquesne sophomore guard Jack Higgins on scoring 14 consecutive points in the second half

"I feel I can't miss at times. At that point of the game I was in the flow."