Box Score
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Marquis Jones hit the gamewinning layup with 9.3 seconds remaining as Rhode Island earned a 77-76 victory at Duquesne on Wednesday night.
Jones, who finished with 14 points and four assists in 24 foul-plagued minutes, drove right to left on the baseline and hit a reverse layup to seal the victory for the Rams (17-10; 8-5 A-10).
Duquesne scored the game's first seven points, but Rhode Island would rally back to tie it on a Jones 3-pointer 4:31 into the contest. The game would feature six ties and 15 lead changes.
Rhody would take a three-point lead - at 19-16 - after a Jones jumper at the 8:24 mark. The Dukes would counter with a 14-5 scoring run, taking a 30-24 advantage with 4:00 on the clock. But the Rams answered with an 8-1 push of their own, capped by a Ben Eaves trey, making it 32-31 with 2:14 remaining in the half.
Two late fast break layups, including one at the buzzer, helped Duquesne to a 39-34 lead at the break.
After DU opened the second half with a basket, making it 41-34, Rhode Island caught fire offensively. URI outscored Duquesne, 15-7, over the next 3:40 and took the lead back - 49-48 - on a fast break basket from Delroy James with 15:56 left in regulation.
A Delroy James jumper, on a pass from Will Martell, gave Rhode Island its largest lead of the game - seven points - at 64-57 with 9:24 to play. Again, the Dukes would rally back, taking a five-point lead - 76-71 - with 3:15 remaining.
But Rhody would buckle down on defense and chip away at the lead on the offensive side of the floor. A layup by Martell and two FT from James cut it helped set up the final play by Jones.
After that basket, Nikola Malesevic blocked driving layup and maintained the rebound with 1.2 seconds left. After being fouled, he purposely missed the second FT, which made it difficult for Duquesne to get a shot off late.
Malesevic led Rhode Island with 16 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds and blocking two shots. James, Jones, and Jamal Wilson - who earned his first start of the season - each tallied 14 points. Wilson led the squad with five assists, while James grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
As a team, URI connected on 27-of-57 from the floor (47.4%) - including 7-of-14 from the perimeter and 16-of-22 from the charity stripe. They outrebounded the Dukes, 41-31.
The Rams return to action on Saturday, Feb. 26 when they travel to E. Rutherford, N.J. to take on Fordham at the Izod Center at 2 p.m.
