Duquesne fell for the fourth time in six Atlantic 10 games Saturday, as their defense struggled during a tough second half at UMass.
The Dukes trailed by six at the half and cost themselves a chance to come back by giving up 48 points in the second half during an 87-79 loss to the Minutemen in Amherst, Mass. The home team used a 9-0 run early in the second half to take control and went on to lead by as many as 15 (55-40).
The Dukes made a run to close within 55-48, but UMass had an answer with six straight points to stifle the comeback.
Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne (14-8, 4-5 A10) with 23 points and went over the 1,500-point milestone in his career (1,171 of those coming at Miami, Ohio). He also had the first double-double of his career as he added 10 rebounds.
Jimmy Clark III had 21 points, but besides he and Grant, no other Dukes player had more than seven.
Duquesne's last six games have produced wins over Loyola Chicago (1-7 in A10) and Saint Joseph's (3-5). The other four have been losses: UMass (4-5), Fordham (5-3), St. Bonaventure (5-4) and Richmond (4-5).
The league is extremely competitive, with eight teams jumbled between records of 5-3 and 4-5. Anybody can win on any given night, but the Dukes have landed in a rut that's seen them play too inconsistently throughout games, which has been costly.
Duquesne gets a week off, and its next game is at George Washington on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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