On New Year's Eve, the Duquesne Dukes defeated the Rhode Island Rams in the Atlantic-10 Conference Opener, 67-55. Despite being 5-8, the Dukes came into the game on a three-game win streak and had won four of the last five, while the Rams came into the game with an 11-1 record, just one shy of their total from last year.

Duquesne won the opening tipoff and never looked back from there. The Dukes, led by Senior Guard/Forward Jahsean Corbett and Senior Guard Tre Dinkins, took a 13-11 lead at the 12-minute mark of the first half and never gave it back up. Duquesne went on a 19-4 run while holding Rhode Island scoreless over the stretch of 5 minutes. Duquesne gained a multi-possession lead and kept building insurance and confidence to take into the half with a score of 34-26.

Coming out of the half, the teams exchanged 5-0 runs before the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse erupted after Junior Guard Kareem Rozier perfectly dished out passes for an alley-oop slam on back-to-back possessions, causing the Rams to call a timeout with 12:41 left and a 47-34 ballgame. The energy did not stop there; Trey Dinkins got called for a technical foul, but URI went just 1-4 on the ensuing free throws, pretty much summarizing how their night went.

There was still a glimpse of hope for Rhode Island when Rams leading scorer Senior Guard Sebastian Thomas made an And-1 3-pointer, followed by two more layups of his own, giving himself 20 on the night and bringing his team to within 8 points with just over 4 minutes left. However, hope did not last long, as the Dukes' leading scorer Jahsean Corbett hit a 3 of his own in front of the Dukes bench, putting them up 13 with 2:02 left, essentially icing the game.

The reigning conference champion Dukes pulled out the victory, heading into 2025 with all the confidence in the world and a perfect 1-0 record in Atlantic-10 play.

Duquesne’s stout defense loomed large in their win, as Rhode Island's offense is typically spectacular, averaging the 24th most points per game in the country (85.7). In a post-game interview with Head Coach Dru Joyce III, he said “I just challenge the group, listen, we know we make mistakes right? We know where we can be better. Can we rise to the occasion?” This was in response to a question asking about how his team was able to contain Rhode Island’s offense at halftime. The Dukes' defense in the second half has not been great this season, letting up 463 points in the second half through the first 12 games, compared to the much better 377 in the first half.

Rhode Island came into the game with 5 players averaging more than 10 points, but only one of them went over that milestone tonight. Kareem Rozier said, “Defensively, our communication was very high. It was level five today. And I think that’s what carried us on the defensive end, being able to talk the whole possession… I think these last couple of games, we’ve been focusing more on that, and everyone’s been more successful.”

Though defense was a main factor in Dru Joyce’s squad, it is important to note that Duquesne cleaned the glass much better than Rhode Island, outrebounding them 41-30 and only allowing 4 offensive rebounds. This stellar performance in the paint would be detrimental to the Rams, who have outrebounded opponents eight times this year. The Rams also play in a high-paced offense, meaning their average amount of possessions is typically high. The Dukes matched their tempo, splitting the possession battle at an even 63-63, further showing how crucial the defense and rebounding job was to their victory.

Jahsean Corbett led the way with a double-double, including 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Forward David Dixon and Tre Dinkins also each had 11 points, along with Cameron Crawford’s 10, flipping the script with Rhode Island and having 4 players in double figures. Sebastian Thomas had 20 points and 4 assists for the Rams.

The Dukes, who are now 6-8 (1-0 A10), next game is away vs.  Davidson on January 4th at 2 PM.