Rhode Island Beat Duquesne 77-76

Pittsburgh (KDKA/AP) - After an impressive 8-0 start in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season and an 11-game winning streak in the middle of the season, the Duquesne Dukes have apparently hit a rough patch -- losing four of their last five games.

With :09 seconds left in Wednesday night's game, Rhode Island's Marquis Jones scored on a layup to lift the Rams over the Dukes, 77-76.

The Dukes (17-9, 9-4) were leading 76-71 with 3:15 left in the game; but the Rams managed to score on a layup and two free throws to cut the deficit to a single point with 1:05 to go.

Duquesne's Sean Johnson started the game on the bench but went on to lead his team with 18 points.

T.J. McConnell added 13 points and 5 rebounds to B.J. Monteiro's 12 points and 8 rebounds in the loss.

Duquesne came into the game averaging 18.6 assists per game -- the highest average in the country; but the Dukes only managed 13 against the Rams.

Since the last four losses were all against conference opponents, the Dukes dropped from first place to fourth in the A10.

Duquesne has three games left in the season and will now go on the road to face Saint Louis this Saturday with tip-off at 8 p.m.