vcu outlasted Duquesne 71-66 on Friday night, March 13, 2026, in the quarterfinals of the Betterment Atlantic 10 Championship at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The second-seeded Rams advanced to a Saturday semifinal, while the seventh-seeded Dukes’ tournament run ended with a late push that never fully erased a 10-point halftime deficit. The game swung on a familiar theme for Duquesne in recent weeks: defensive energy that could not consistently turn into enough offense to finish the comeback.
vcu advances after holding off Duquesne’s second-half surge
vcu led 39-29 at halftime, building the cushion behind Michael Belle, who had 10 points before the break. Duquesne came out of the locker room down 10 and then tightened the game, holding the Rams to two field goals and five total points over an eight-minute stretch in the second half. Even with that defensive stand, Duquesne could not cut the deficit below three points, and the Rams closed out the 71-66 win.
Terrence Hill Jr. led the Rams with 20 points off the bench and added six assists. Belle finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, making 7 of 10 shots from the floor, and Lazar Djokovic added 13 points. For Duquesne, Alex Williams posted 20 points and eight rebounds, Jimmie Williams added 13 points with five assists and three steals, and David Dixon contributed eight points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
The victory moves the Rams into a Saturday semifinal against the winner of the final Friday quarterfinal between Saint Joseph’s and Davidson.
Immediate reactions: Joyce, Martelli Jr., and Alex Williams on the “mesh point”
Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce III pointed to a first-half sequence that helped shape the night, describing a stretch where missed shots and possessions that “could have been better” turned into a problem of toughness and momentum.
“There was a (moment) in the first half that we missed some shots. We have some possessions that could have been better, and when those things happen, the solution is you’ve got to get tougher, and we find ourselves down by 10 points because we weren’t tough enough, ” Joyce said after the loss. He credited his team’s second-half approach for flipping the energy defensively “regardless of make or miss, ” but the rally still came up short.
vcu coach Phil Martelli Jr. did not pin the second-half lull entirely on the Rams’ defense, saying there were “defensive breakdowns” during the stretch when Duquesne missed makeable looks. At the same time, Martelli emphasized the cumulative effect of full-court pressure.
“We had some defensive breakdowns in that stretch, and they just missed some shots. But when we were playing it right, we were pretty good, ” Martelli said. “I thought we gave up some shots, but I also thought we did a good job, rearing into some of those Duquesne guys — into their legs. So now those shots — (Tarence) Guinyard had a wide open one that was short — I think it’s because he had to play yesterday, and now we’re picking up 94 feet every play. So it all flows together. ”
Senior Alex Williams described the second-half push as a mindset shift and a response to urgency. “We played like our backs were against the wall, and we had nothing to lose, ” he said, adding that the Dukes tried to “fight, fight, fight” by generating turnovers and momentum, even as they fell short.
Quick context on Duquesne’s late-season pattern
Joyce framed the loss as another example of defensive work not fully matching offensive efficiency, a pattern that has been consistent for Duquesne over the last three weeks of the season. In that span, the Dukes’ scoring dipped compared with earlier conference play, even as their defense showed improvement.
What’s next Saturday after vcu’s quarterfinal win
On Saturday, vcu will play in the Atlantic 10 semifinal against the winner of Saint Joseph’s vs. Davidson, with the Rams carrying forward the balance they leaned on Friday: a halftime edge, key bench scoring, and enough late execution to survive Duquesne’s best defensive stretch. For Duquesne, the season ends with the same hard edge it showed in the second half at PPG Paints Arena—stronger stops, a tighter margin, and one more missed chance to find the mesh point when the game demanded it most.
