There was nothing cheap about what happened inside the A.J. Palumbo Center last night.

No easy run-out buckets, no blown assignments leading to a trouble-free backdoor layup and no lapses that simply handed the other team a basket free of charge.

When Duquesne and Robert Morris gathered for what some thought would be an end-to-end, wide-open, try-to-outscore-the-other-guys game, the unexpected occurred -- lots of defense was played.

"They earned every single bucket they got," Robert Morris coach Mike Rice said of the Dukes.

When it all shook out, Duquesne (7-3) earned just a few buckets more, soldiering to a 59-54 victory against the Colonials (3-5) in non-conference play.

"I love the resolve of our kids," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said of a win in which his team had twice the number of turnovers (16) than assists (eight), but outrebounded Robert Morris, 51-36. "They made plays down the stretch and you have to take your hat off to them. We got the stops when we needed them."

And the Dukes made just enough shots when they needed them. B.J. Monteiro, who scored 17 points, got the basket to put his team ahead, 55-54, with 1:57 left, then made two free throws to ice it with 17 seconds remaining.

"He had, I can't say ..." Everhart's words then stopped. He wanted to use an R-rated term before he continued with something he figured was suitable for everyone's consumption. "B.J. had intestinal fortitude at the end of the game."

The Dukes needed it, because they were locked in a fight that they probably didn't anticipate from the Northeast Conference school that they beat by 26 points last season.

Another thing Duquesne never saw coming was Robert Morris freshman reserve Karon Abraham, who time and again found open spaces on the perimeter, elevating and knocking down long jumpers. He finished with 18 points on six 3-pointers, five of those coming in the second half. Abraham's effort was much needed, as two Robert Morris starting guards, Mezie Nwigwe and Jimmy Langhurst, combined to go 3 for 15 from the field (1 for 9 from 3-point range) and finish with a collective 7 points.

"They kept fighting; we were throwing everything at them and they were throwing everything at us," said Duquesne forward Damian Saunders, who finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds, despite just two first-half points. "Some kids on their team we took lightly, because we played with them in the summer league, but they came out here today and showed us they improved since the summer and we had a lot to deal with."

A lot to deal with? Talk about your understatements.

After a first half that was a remarkable struggle offensively, for both sides, it was evident Robert Morris, despite its record and that it plays in a smaller conference, wasn't going away.

Over the first 20 minutes, 61 shots were taken from the field and just 17 successfully found the mark. Duquesne was 8 for 32; Robert Morris went 9 for 29.

In some ways, though, it was a masterpiece for Rice, who knew his team couldn't get in a track meet with the Dukes.

"I was pleased that we were forgetting about what was happening on the offensive end," Rice said. "We forgot about what we weren't doing on offense and just continued to play hard and tough defense." That defense -- making the Dukes shoot 21 for 57 for the game -- allowed Robert Morris to be right there until the very end.

The Colonials led by five points -- 43-38 -- with 10:09 remaining and by a point, 46-45, with just over six minutes left.

After Duquesne looked to take some semblance of control -- a five-point lead with just under five minutes left -- Robert Morris fought back, grabbing the lead again, 54-53, when guard Velton Jones hit a three-pointer from the top of the circle with 1:57 left.

With about 25 seconds remaining, Abraham had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer, but his shot -- which he took with the Colonials trailing, 57-54 -- went halfway down before popping out.

"They made us guard every single possession," Everhart said. "They didn't give us anything easy. They made us earn everything we got tonight and you have to take your hat off to their kids, they played hard and are well coached. They gave us the fight of a lifetime."

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