KINGSTON, R.I. -- Duquesne remained winless in the Atlantic 10 as another game slipped away late. Rhode Island outscored the Dukes, 9-0, in the final 1:30 to win, 75-67 in front of a crowd of 5,236 at the Ryan Center.

With the score tied, 66-66, with 1:38 remaining, B.J. Monteiro, who had 11 points, was fouled under the basket but made just one of two free throws. The Rams (15-2, 3-1) took advantage just nine seconds later when Keith Cothran, who had a game-high 23 points, found Akeem Richmond open on the right side, and Richmond buried a 3-pointer to put Rhode Island ahead for good, 69-67.

Eric Evans had a chance to tie the score with 59 seconds left, but he missed a layup and Rhody followed that up with a Delroy James basket to put the Rams ahead by four with 34 seconds left.

"This is a tough one," said Duquesne coach Ron Everhart. "We have to make plays down the stretch. We had our opportunities to hang around and do a lot better at the end and we didn't take advantage of it."

Duquesne (9-9, 0-4) came out strong in the second half, using a 7-2 run over the first 2:07 to cut the deficit to 37-36, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from Evans to Damian Saunders. That opening surge helped the Dukes erase a six-point halftime deficit, and they took the lead with 12:54 remaining on a basket by Evans, who scored 16 points.

From there, the two teams battled back and forth, with neither holding a lead larger than three points. Duquesne regained the lead with 7:54 remaining when Saunders converted his third offensive rebound of the possession for a 57-55 advantage.

Over the next four minutes, the Dukes either held the lead or the score was tied, with the lead as high as four (61-57) after a basket from Sean Johnson. But Duquesne's inability to hit free throws during this stretch prevented it from building a larger lead.

"In my opinion, we shot free throws real poorly down the stretch," said Everhart, as the Dukes were just 7 of 14 in the second half from the line. "We executed real well, but couldn't convert when we got to the line."

Rhode Island was able to build its lead to as high as 10 points in the first half, 30-20, with four minutes left, but a 3-pointer by Saunders late in the half helped the Dukes keep the deficit in single digits at halftime.

"We have to go back to work," said Saunders, who finished with his ninth consecutive double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. "We need to take our time, learn from our mistakes and watch the film. Everyone has to do their part."

The loss was the third consecutive heartbreaker for the Dukes, and the second consecutive conference road game that it had a chance to win in the closing minutes. Duquesne didn't help matters against Rhode Island, missing its final four shots from the field.

"It's a real tough loss," said Saunders. "It's always tough when you are on the road and up, then you have a couple of turnovers and you look up and they are in the lead. Last few A-10 games we've been up the last three minutes and then we hurt ourselves with turnovers."

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