Maybe the finest method is no method whatsoever.

Perhaps the optimum structure is a lack of structure.

For these Duquesne Dukes, the approach taken Friday was devoid of tactical intricacies, removed from all the finer points found in some in-depth coaching manual.

They simply played, went up and down in a manner more befitting a concrete court, shirts-and-skins summer league run than an Atlantic 10 Conference matchup, and it worked brilliantly (on offense at least), leading to a 111-100 victory against visiting Fordham (2-26, 0-16) in a matinee at the Palumbo Center.

"It kind of felt like an open run," Duquesne point guard Eric Evans said of his team's regular-season finale. "Both teams were going up and down, just scoring and going up and down. It felt good."

Sure did feel good for Evans, as he had a career day for the Dukes (16-14, 7-9) with 23 points.

It felt even better for teammate Melquan Bolding, who finished with a career-high 32 points, knocking in 11 of his 19 shots, including four 3-pointers. Bill Clark added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Duquesne.

Fordham got 29 points from Brenton Butler and freshman Chris Gaston had a double-double with 21 points and 18 rebounds. With the loss, Fordham became the first team to finish an Atlantic 10 regular season without a win since St. Bonaventure went 0-14 in an eight-team Atlantic 10 in 1992-93.

Fordham, which took an early 9-3 lead, stayed close throughout the first half and trailed, 52-51, at halftime.

The Rams countered the Dukes nearly shot for shot, looking more like a middle-of-the pack conference team than one which hasn't won since Dec. 8.

"They had nothing to lose out there," Evans said of a Fordham team that ended the season on a 21-game losing streak.

Duquesne made 20 of its 31 second-half shots, opened its lead to 97-88 with four minutes remaining. In a bit of an escape from routine, the Dukes missed just 10 free throws.

That added up to a win and prevented Fordham from giving interim coach Jared Grasso, who took over in early December, a win to end the season.

"You have to take your hat off to [Fordham], they played hard," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said. "They came in here dying to win this game and were playing hard, that was pretty obvious."

Grasso, whose Fordham future is uncertain, finished with a 1-22 record in games he coached and was asked, afterward what he learned in his stint.

"It has been a hectic year and a crazy year with everything that has gone on, but I am proud of our effort," Grasso said. "It was a very interesting process, what I went through. Doing everything I did, on the fly, wasn't easy to do."

The Dukes must now wait on the results from the six remaining Atlantic 10 regular-season games today to find out their fate in the conference tournament, which starts Tuesday. As it stands now, Duquesne is ninth in the conference, but the Dukes could still finish eighth, which would assure them of a home game in the first round of the conference tournament. If they finish ninth, they open the tournament on the road.

"Hopefully, we get a home game, so we can get the crowd behind us," Bolding said. "But, if we go on the road, we just have to fight it out."

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