Ben Deihl | sports editor

Down by 30 late in the first half, Duquesne looked deflated. UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse was silent. The Dukes trailed 42-12 with six minutes remaining in the first half on Saturday afternoon, with the Richmond Spiders starting 8-11 from 3-point range. The game seemed like it was over, and the Dukes were ending their season on a sour note.

But a 51-point second half on the back of David Dixon and Alex Willaims fueled Duquesne to complete its largest comeback in program history, while tying the record for the fourth largest comeback in NCAA men’s basketball history, beating the Spiders 79-77 on a last-second Dixon tip-in.

“Words can’t explain it,” Dixon said. “It’s crazy. I believed that we were going to win the game, but I didn’t know how. I’m happy to have my career at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse end in a fashion like this. It means everything to me, especially doing this in front of my family.”

As the seconds bled from the clock, Tarence Guinyard’s attempted 3 to seal the game rattled off the rim. The Fieldhouse held its breath. Flying in from the baseline, Dixon delivered a perfect touch to float the ball through the nylon as the backboard glowed red, capping off Duquesne’s largest comeback from the team’s longest-tenured player.

“I read somewhere that the best ability is availability,” Dixon said. “I don’t know how long I have on this earth, so I’m just going to do the best I can, play the hardest I can while I’m here and figure out the rest.”

The Dukes managed the feat during the team’s Senior Day, honoring the six seniors and graduate students in the lineup, including Dixon, Guinyard, Williams, Maximus Edwards, Cam Crawford and John Hugely IV.

Dixon scored his third double-double this season, notching 17 points and pulling down 11 caroms, including six offensive rebounds while also registering two blocks, steals and assists. Williams contributed a game-high 22 points while going 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.

In a sea of blue and red, Celtic green jerseys were scattered like clovers in a forest around the Fieldhouse as Duquesne honored the late Chuck Cooper in its annual Chuck Cooper Classic, a pillar of Duquesne basketball history.

Cooper’s son, Chuck Cooper III, was in the building to honor his father’s legacy, furthering his family’s ironclad relationship with Duquesne Athletics and the university. If there was any doubt about Cooper’s value to the team, their historic performance on Saturday put them to bed.

“[Cooper III] is one of our biggest supporters, biggest fans,” Joyce said. “That relationship that me and him have is special, that sense of a heavenly touch from Chuck Cooper. If he was watching, if he was paying attention, thank you.”

The Spiders dominated the first half, beating Duquesne in every facet of the game. They hit 66.7% of their shots, while raining down eight triples through the first 13 minutes of the game. Duquesne was outrebounded 16-14, committed eight turnovers and had three shots blocked.

Will Johnston terrorized Duquesne’s zone defense, using his mid-range shot to carve through the Dukes. He notched 11 points in the first half, going 5-for-7 from the field while adding three rebounds and a steal.

Just before Williams went on a hot streak, Joyce called a timeout as Duquesne was faced their second 30-point deficit of the half. Joyce knew something needed to change.

“We had to make a huge adjustment as a staff as well,” Joyce said. “Our defensive coordinator, Julian Sullinger, got to switch everything. That was huge for us. We were struggling defensively to maintain our principles, and we decided to switch. We just got to drive them.”

Staring down a 30-point deficit, Williams led the Dukes on an 8-0 run to give Duquesne life down the stretch of the first half. An extended 11-2 run and clutch buckets from Edwards and Guinyard left the halftime score at 49-28, but Duquesne still had work to do.

“I didn’t even know the deficit,” Joyce said. “I knew what time and possession. If I had started to watch the scoreboard and think about the deficit, I think it would have ruined my spirit. I can’t ask them to have the energy right if my energy isn’t right.”

An adjustment to tight, physical man defense proved to be the tipping point for the Dukes, as Richmond’s offense couldn’t find room to work.

A completely new Dukes team came out of the locker room at halftime. They were confident, poised, and controlled the tempo of the game from the start of the second half. The Dukes put up 34 shots and sank 50% of them en route to a 51-point offensive explosion in the final period.

Most importantly, Duquesne outrebounded Richmond 18-6 in the second half, pulling down 10 offensive boards to help put up 17 second-chance points. The Dukes also forced 11 turnovers compared to their two, snatching seven steals to convert 28 points from turnovers.

With the win, Duquesne settled at the No. 7 seed in the A10 Championship, set to take on No. 10 seed Rhode Island Thursday at 5 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu