Ben Deihl | sports editor

No. 7 Duquesne’s season came to an end on Friday, falling to No. 2 VCU 71-66 at PPG Paints Arena. VCU advanced to the semifinals of the A10 Championship, where they will face Saint Joseph’s with a trip to the title game on the line. 

“It’s March,” VCU Head Coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “In March, games are going to be like this. It’s not going to be pretty. [We] just got to go out and make the winning plays.”

Alex Williams recorded his third straight 20-point performance for the Dukes in the loss and added eight rebounds, while Terrence Hill Jr. matched the point total for the Rams, shooting 50% from the field.

The Dukes came out of the gates swinging, starting the game on an 8-3 run thanks to deep 3-pointers from Jimmie Williams and Tarence Guinyard. Duquesne’s zone defense pressured the Rams into uncomfortable shots, and VCU started the game 1 for 8 from the field. 

But just as quick as Duquesne’s hot streak started, the Dukes fizzled out. Plagued with the same mistakes as their Rhode Island game a day before, Duquesne consistently went on scoreless streaks, often stretching more than three minutes. 

VCU was able to go on a 6-0 run to shave Duquesne’s lead to 1. The Rams’ iso, on-ball defense gave Duquesne trouble. The Dukes weren’t able to find their way into the paint, extending their dry spell to almost six minutes. 

The Rams finished the first half on a 14-3 run to go up 39-29 at halftime. Hill drilled a 30-foot triple as time expired to give VCU its double-digit lead, leaving the Dukes in a hole they weren’t able to climb out of. 

Duquesne came out of halftime ready to pounce, going on a 6-0 run to cut VCU’s lead to single digits. David Dixon got his second alley-oop of the game to bring a packed Duquesne section to their feet. 

“We played like our backs were against the wall,” Williams said. “We had nothing to lose, and we just played grittier. I know everybody did everything in their power, played hard, gave everything they had.”

Still, VCU was able to keep Duquesne within an arm’s reach for the majority of the second half. But down 3 with just 30 seconds left and the ball, Guinyard pushed down the court but lost his footing. The referees missed Duquesne Head Coach Dru Joyce III’s pleas for a timeout just before the turnover, forcing the Dukes to foul and effectively putting the game on ice for the Rams. 

“That’s the ideal situation, [and] the refs have to notice that,” Joyce said. “You’ve got to do better. That’s their job, right? Their job is to see. I don’t know if they take an eye test to make sure they’re great at seeing, but that’s what they’re supposed to do.”

As Duquesne’s season came to an end, Dixon, the all-time games played leader at Duquesne, came out of the tunnel one last time to say goodbye to the fans one last time. A teary-eyed Dixon waved to the crowd as “David Dixon” chants rang out from the seats, thanking him for four years of unwavering loyalty. 

“They’ve been there for me since I was a freshman,” Dixon said. “I needed to show them love. Never in a million years I thought I’d hear them chanting my name like that. It was just emotional.”

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu