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PITTSBURGH - Jared Terrell's two free throws with 8 seconds left proved to be the difference as Rhode Island defeated Duquesne 61-60 at Palumbo Center.

Duquesne, which led from the 9:58 mark of the first half until E.C. Matthews hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left, was led by Micah Mason's 18 points. Derrick Colter, who finished with 15, had a 10-foot jumper from the right corner rim out as time expired.

Matthews, who scored 13 in the second half, led the Rams with 18.

Duquesne led 43-32 after Mason hit a pair of free throws following a technical foul on Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley at the 14:22 mark.

Following the technical, URI went on a 17-7 run - tying it on a Matthews 3-pointer with 9:18 left. Matthews hit two 3-pointers around another by Jarvis Garrett to key the run during which Duquesne missed six consecutive shots.

Mason broke the tie with a drive, and Colter followed with a pair of buckets to give the Dukes a five-point cushion with 7:28 to go.

Rhody cut it to one on a Hassan Martin dunk, but the Dukes responded with baskets from Dominique McKoy and Colter to build the lead back to five with just under five minutes left.

The Rams had the ball down two with 1:30 to go and took their first lead since mid-way through the first half on Matthews' 3-pointer.

Colter, who went 2-of-4 from the arc, missed a 3-pointer, but McKoy rebounded enabling DU to call time out with 42 seconds on the game clock and 31 on the shot clock.

DU ran the game clock to 21 before Mason hit a floater from the left side.

Terrell missed a left wing jumper before Jeremiah Jones and Terrell got tangled up while trying to run down the loose ball on the sideline beyond midcourt with 8.3 seconds left.

Jones was called for a foul and Terrell made both free throws setting up DU's final possession. Colter dribbled the length of the court through traffic to get his final shot off.

The Dukes held the Rams scoreless for nearly 4:30 of the first half in turning a 16-13 lead into a 10-point advantage. Mason scored five during the 7-0 run.

DU maintained at least a six-point margin the rest of the half that ended with the Dukes up 27-19.

Duquesne is at Saint Louis on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

NOTES

• The win was Rhode Island's seventh win in a row in Pittsburgh ... the last four have come by two, one, five and one point ... DU's last win at home over the Rams was on Jan. 10, 2001.

• Rhode Island struggled against the Duquesne zone in the first half, hitting just 8-of-29 shots (.276) while turning it over 11 times ... URI shot .467 in the second half to bring its percentage to .368 for the game ... Duquesne shot .436.

• Guard Derrick Colter (15 points) hit 2-of-4 3-point attempts to bring his season percentage to .552 (37-of-67) ... Colter entered the game leading the nation in 3-point shooting percentage.

• Forward Dominique McKoy, who played at Rhode Island as a freshman in 2011-12, finished with 10 points ... it was third double-digit game this season and third in his past four games.

• Duquesne's largest lead was 13 at 38-25 with 16:22 left ... Rhode Island's largest lead was 5 at 9-4 with 14:34 remaining in the first half ... there were four ties and five lead changes in the game.