Duquesne needed a bucket with 1 second left to win its previous game, but the Dukes were in much more control this time around against a winless opponent.
Duquesne led throughout and broke away with a couple of big runs in a 75-57 win over Alabama State on Wednesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The Dukes improved to 5-1, with their lone loss coming at Kentucky. They are just one win away from matching last year's total of six wins, as they finished the season 6-24.
Duquesne won its last time out, 83-82, on Tevin Brewer's bucket with a second left against North Florida. That game helped the team learn how to win close games, but the follow-up was never really close.
Duquesne led 37-28 at the half, then pulled away and led by as many as 25 (68-43) in the second half.
Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne with 23 points. Grant, a transfer from Miami, Ohio, is off to a fantastic start, averaging 19.2 points per game.
Austin Rotroff had 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the first double-double of his career. Quincy McGriff added 10 points, and David Dixon had five blocked shots to go along with four points and five rebounds.
Duquesne played without injured forwards Joe Reece and R.J. Gunn, while Kevin Easley missed his third game because of a team suspension.
Keith Dambrot has done a good job of scheduling in the non-conference, as Duquesne is 20-5 in such games since the 2018-19 season. The Dukes have played the first two of nine consecutive home games, giving them a good opportunity for confidence-building wins early on.
The Dukes' next game will be Tuesday against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
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