UMass Falls On The Road At Duquesne, 88-79

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team fell on the road at Duquesne on Wednesday night in the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, 88-79. The Minutemen (14-15 Overall, 5-12 Atlantic 10) rallied back from down by as many as 17 to make it a one possession game at 56-54 with 11:37 remaining in regulation.

RJ Luis scored the first four points for the Minutemen and finished the half with 10 points. Luis finished the evening with 23 points on 9-of-15 from the field to go along with seven rebounds.

Duquesne used a 9-1 scoring run to take a double-digit lead at 17-7 with 14:13 to go in the opening half. The Dukes stretched the run to a 13-3 spurt over five minutes of gametime to take a 21-9 advantage with just over 12 minutes left.

UMass answered with a quick 7-0 run to pull within five at 21-16. Dyondre Dominguez scored five points during the run and capped it off with a 3-pointer. The junior finished with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added a game-high nine rebounds.

The Dukes went on an 11-0 scoring run to take their largest lead of the first half at 35-18 with 5:43 to go. Duquesne shot 52-percent from the field in the first and 47-percent from 3-point range to build a 46-30 advantage heading into the halftime break. The Dukes forced the Minutemen into 12 first half turnovers leading to 10 points while holding UMass to 38-percent from the field.

The Minutemen started the second half by outscoring the Dukes 8-1 to pull within single digits for the first time since the 9:02 mark of the first half at 47-38. UMass started the half a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and made eight of its first 11 shot attempts to help make it a one possession game.

Luis and T.J. Weeks Jr. knocked down back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to make it a two-point game at 56-54 with 11:37 to go.

The Dukes, meanwhile, went 2-of-13 to start the second half and were outscored by the Minutemen 24-10 in the first eight minutes and change. Duquesne followed with five straight points to stretch its lead back to seven before back-to-back 3-pointers made it a double-digit game at 73-62.

Isaac Kante finished with a season-high 15 points with five rebounds as one of five Minutemen in double figures on the night. Keon Thompson added 11 points and four assists while Weeks chipped in 10 points.

The Minutemen conclude the regular season at home in the Mullins Center for a nationally televised matchup against St. Bonaventure on Senior Day Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

For complete coverage of the UMass men's basketball team, follow the Minutemen on Twitter at @UMassMBB, on Instagram and Facebook at @UMassBasketball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Dyondre Dominguez

Isaac Kante

RJ Luis

Keon Thompson

T.J. Weeks Jr.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics