DAYTON, Ohio -- Archie Miller might have rested easier with a rout. But, Dayton's coach learned a little more about his team during Tuesday night's nail-biting win over Duquesne.

Charles Cooke scored 22 points, and Scoochie Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to lift No. 19 Dayton past the upset-minded Dukes 76-74 at University of Dayton Arena.

"I don't think our toughness in November and December would've won us that game," Miller said. "I don't think we had the right mental approach to start it. We were able to hang in there. I'm really proud of our team."

Dayton (20-3, 10-1 Atlantic 10) trailed by 12 points with a little more than five minutes remaining but closed the game on a 19-5 run to seal its eighth straight win.

Smith, a guard who scored 14 points, delivered the decisive blow with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to put the Flyers ahead 73-70.

"I thank (forward) Dyshawn (Pierre) for the assist," Smith said. "I was ready to shoot when the ball went into the post. I just had to knock it down."

Duquesne's upset bid finally ended when guard Derrick Colter's three-quarter court shot caromed high off the backboard.

"This win shows where we are mentally," Cooke said. "It was grind it out game. We fought to the very end. It was a toughness win".

Miller saw it coming.

"The first time we played them they were without Micah Mason," Miller said. "We knew it was going to be a much different game. I think (the players) thought it was going to be easier than it was."

An ankle injury forced Mason, a senior guard, to miss a 66-58 loss to Dayton in January, but he made his presence felt on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 27 points thanks largely to seven 3-pointers.

"He's like (Duke great) J.J. Redick out there coming off those screens," said Cooke. "You have to chase him around."

Colter added 21 points for Duquesne (15-9, 5-6 Atlantic 10), which was facing a ranked Dayton team for the first time since 1960, and it hung tough for most of the evening.

The Flyers trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but they began the second half with a 7-0 run to go ahead 42-35.

But Colter hit two long 3-pointers and Mason's long-distance trey made the score 69-57 with 5:50 left.

"It's Micah being Micah," said Duquesne coach Jim Ferry. "He's a fantastic player. He got into a rhythm. When he plays like this, he give us a chance to win anywhere."

Dayton answered with an 8-0 run over the next 2:30.

Flyers guard Kyle Davis, who scored 15 points, hit a layup that tied the score 70-70 with 1:37 left, setting up Smith's heroics.

Duquesne gave Dayton all it could handle in the first half, starting 12-of-17 to build a 28-16 lead.

Eight points by forward Sam Miller, including two 3-pointers, sparked an 11-0 Flyers run helping them tie the score 35-35 at halftime.

"We kept our poise from the start to the end," Ferry said. "Their defense got after Micah. They really stepped up defensively."

NOTES: Dayton's No. 19 ranking is its highest this late in the season since Feb. 15, 1968, when it was ranked 17th. ... The Flyers started 9-1 in conference play for the first time since the 2002-03 season. ... All six of Duquesne's conference losses were to teams ranked in the RPI top 50: Davidson, Dayton, George Washington and VCU. ... Through 23 games, Duquesne limited opponents to 40 percent shooting from the field, the program's lowest since 1970.