Duquesne men's basketball team drops 5th in row

Duquesne’s losing streak in men’s basketball reached five games Wednesday night.

Jason Roche scored 14 points and Dusan Neskovic added 13, including a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to seal the outcome, as Richmond handed Duquesne a 73-68 loss at Robins Center in Richmond, Va.

Richmond led by as many as 12 points in the first half on a basket by B. Artis White with 8 minutes, 7 seconds left before halftime before the Spiders settled for a 33-27 halftime lead.

“I didn’t think anything was short on effort and energy, but I think we were a little shell-shocked in the beginning,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “We didn’t have the right mindset. We got down early, and things weren’t going our way.

“We had to kind of snap back because that’s just the game of basketball, no matter if you’re home or on the road.”

Richmond shot a sizzling 61% overall (25 for 41).

“I don’t think they missed much of anything,” Joyce said. “A couple of prayers went up in the air. I would take those same makes.”

Roche was perfect from the field for Richmond (8-15, 3-7 Atlantic 10), converting all four attempts, including 3 for 3 from 3-point range.

Maximus Edwards came off the bench to lead Duquesne (9-14, 4-6) with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting (4 of 6 from 3-point range).

“Max has had some tough games in there,” Joyce said. “He’s starting to find his groove. He did a tremendous job of showing some patience. He is a shot-maker, and he’s proven that over the last two years in conference (at George Washington).”

Duquesne has lost 13 of its 14 games to Richmond at Robins Center since the Spiders joined the A-10 in 2000.

Richmond, which ended a seven-game losing streak, was coming off a 90-49 loss to crosstown rival VCU on Saturday.

Trailing 67-54 with 3:27 left, Duquesne used a 14-4 run to trim its deficit to 71-68 with 18 seconds left. But Neskovic sank two free throws as the Spiders were 6 for 6 from the line in the final 44 seconds.

Tre Dinkins added 17 points, and Kareem Rozier finished with 10 points and five steals for Duquesne, which returns home to face Loyola Chicago on Saturday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.