Last time out, it was a bad first half that cost Duquesne. This time, it was a brutal stretch late in the second half that doomed the Dukes.
They led by two at the half at home against Fordham, then struggled mightily late and fell, 65-58, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The visiting Rams used a 15-0 run to turn a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead in the final minutes.
There's no doubt, this one stings for the Dukes, who appeared to be in control but saw everything fall apart in a hurry.
Duquesne was up 48-42 with 6:27 to go, then Fordham erupted for 15 straight points to take a 57-48 lead. The Dukes were held scoreless for 3:49, while the Rams caught fire to steal the game.
This has been a solid season for the Dukes, but they've now dropped three of their past four games against tough competition in the Atlantic 10. Duquesne fell to 3-4 in the league and 13-7 overall.
There is some good news, though, as the next two games are against teams near the bottom of the A10 standings.
Next up is a home game against Loyola Chicago, which is having a rough season at 1-6 in the league and 7-12 overall, then comes a trip to UMass, which is 2-5 in A10.
This loss was particularly tough since it was the first home game after a three-game road stretch, and Duquesne was playing well with a decent lead late.
Then came the collapse.
Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne with 10 points but was the only scorer in double figures. Jimmy Clark III had nine points.
The Dukes had a miserable day shooting the ball, hitting just 31 percent overall and 3 of 16 from 3-point territory (19 percent). That's just not going to cut it in league play, against pretty much anybody.
The loss snapped the Dukes' five-game home winning streak.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Box score
• Standings
• Schedule
• Statistics
