Weathers, Duquesne roll over Rhode Island, win 86-75

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Paced by the play of senior Marcus Weathers, Duquesne beat Rhode Island 86-75 on Senior Night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Saturday night. 

In only the second game ever at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Weathers took the game into his own hands notching his fourth double-double of the season scoring a career-high 28 points and hauling in 14 rebounds for the Dukes. 

"He shot it 20 times, that's a lot of shots for somebody on my team," Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot said following game. "He was efficient. He had 28 points and 14 rebounds so I can't complain too much. He can play better defensively, I do know that. He did a lot of good things. He's a hard matchup."

Duquesne held the lead for a majority of the game as Rams remained close, but it wasn't until this sequence that Duquesne put the game away for good. 

Amari Kelly's block set up a slam by Weathers to put the lead at 13 with just over seven minutes left in the game. Rhode Island would make get back within seven points but it was all for naught. 

It wasn't the first time Weathers would haul in a pass down the court like he was on the football field, but it was no surprise to Weathers that he had no issues bringing in the deep passes tonight although it might be surprising to some. 

"The thing people don't really know about me is I got them hands, I got them Randy Moss hands," Weathers said. "If you throw it long, I'm going to go get it and I'm going to make sure I get it. I definitely felt like a receiver on those plays."

Three of the four seniors honored Saturday night scored in double-digits with Tavian Dunn-Martin scoring 14 and Michael Hughes adding 10 of his own.

Those seniors walked off the floor for what could be the last time to a standing ovation from the 100 or so fans in attendance and deservedly so as they're the players who led the way for Duquesne becoming consistently competitive in the Atlantic 10. Their leadership and performances over the last three seasons has led to the Dukes finishing with three non-losing seasons in a row in the Atlantic 10 for the first time in program history.

"It felt good, just to get a little bit of recognition for the amount of time Mike, Ryan (Murphy), T-Dunn and me have put in," Weathers said. 

On this night though, it was all Weathers. And boy, did he impress.

Moves like that were a constant against Rhode Island and they helped bring the energy the Dukes were missing in their past two games following their return to playing. It also helped Duquesne was able to play in front of the home crowd Saturday night as well.

"It felt really good, plays like those plays are just real big energy plays," Weathers said. "For us to hear some fans screaming for us and stuff like that when we make those plays, it's just real big for our confidence and our team morale."

It's been a tale of two teams since the Dukes returned to game action with the first two games being sloppy, ugly losses before changing the tide and playing much like the team that Duquesne expected to be coming into the season.

"I think the difference tonight was our overall aggression. I think we were super locked in on who we were playing just knowing this was our last home game and we definitely needed to build some momentum going into the tournament. 

"Strange season," Dambrot said. "We played with a little bit more emotion. It's amazing when you play at home in a nice building what can happen." 

The Dukes will be on the road for the remainder of the season as they compete in the Atlantic 10 tournament, but the road is nothing new for a team that's played home games in three different arenas this season. More important than where Duquesne plays though, is that the Dukes are able to play. The opportunity to play and play consistency is something not lost on Dambrot who's dealt with stoppages throughout the season.

"It's all mindset with us. If we feel like playing, we feel like things are going well, we're pretty good. Some day's we've had trouble really being motivated." 

That lack of motivation has at times been detrimental to the Dukes and their success as it's played a key role in their last two losses, but now with the Atlantic 10 Tournament ahead of them, a performance such as the one tonight can go a long way for Duquesne moving forward.

"I'm sure I'm going to have to motivate some people, but at least I wont have to motivate all of them. At least they'll feel good about themselves going in," Dambrot said. "We just have to work hard and get ready for the tournament and find out who in the heck we're going to play." 

While the Dukes are unsure of who they will play in the opening round, what is known is that Weathers and company will be entering the tournament with a little bit of momentum after tonight's victory and a team with momentum can be a dangerous thing come tournament time.

"This was a really good team win for our guys," Weathers said. "We played extremely hard and we did a really good job rebounding tonight and just being aggressive in matching the overall aggression. Just a lot of momentum going into the tournament and you know, a lot of confidence."

• Of his 21 points, 13 game in the first half for freshman Chad Baker. who is a spark plug in a multitude of ways for Dambrot and the Dukes. Baker was efficient on the scoreboard, but late, his actions led to what could have been a dagger for Duquesne and nearly let Rhode Island back in the game. 

"He plays with a lot of spirit. He plays with a lot of passion," Weathers said. "He's a fiery one. Sometimes we got to corral that in because it can get a little toxic sometimes, but he's a fiery one."

That toxicity was out in full force as Baker was hit with a technical foul of which nobody is truly sure of what was said although Dambrot had some ideas.

"He said he was speaking Spanish which I told him to do. I said quit speaking English, just talk Spanish," Dambrot joked after the game. "I don't know, I guess his body language wasn't too good speaking Spanish. These guys are going to force me to retire if they keep acting like that."

It's the second game in a row where the Dukes have had a technical foul and it could be a cause for concern leading into the tournament.

• Dambrot doesn't know who his team will face in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, but to him it's all about how Duquesne matches up against its opponent. 

"I have no idea who we're going to play. It really doesn't matter. Every game is a little different match-up wise, Dambrot said. "We tend to be ok when we're playing a big, strong, physical team and the little small, quick teams kind bother us a little bit. It's all going to depend on match-ups for us." 

The Dukes should find out Tuesday morning who they will face and will be playing the first round in Richmond, Virg. no matter who the opponent will be.