PITTSBURGH — Three years in and Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon still has to convince James Robinson it’s OK to shoot.

The message, it seems, is finally starting to sink in.

The junior point guard poured in a career-high 23 points in a 76-62 win over Duquesne in the 83rd City Game on Friday night. Three days after being held to a single basket in a loss at Indiana, Robinson let it fly 14 times and drilled a key 3-pointer in the final minutes after the Dukes had trimmed a 15-point deficit to six.

“I just took open shots really,” Robinson said. “Made my first couple shots and I felt good and my teammates did a really good job finding me.”

Robinson responded to his dismal performance against the Hoosiers by leading the Panthers (5-3) to their 14th straight victory over their crosstown rivals. Josh Newkirk added 16 points and Chris Jones scored 12, including a couple of pull-up jumpers late in the second half to turn back one last surge by the Dukes.

Jordan Stevens and TySean Powell had 15 points each for the Dukes, while Derrick Colter added 13 but Duquesne (3-2) looked shaky early and struggled to keep up with the bigger, more experienced Panthers.

The two schools are separated by just three miles geographically, though Pitt has done its best to make the series little more than another nonconference tuneup. The Panthers have dominated Dukes for the last decade-plus, with 12 of their 14 straight wins coming by at least 10 points.

Pitt is hardly a finished product. The Panthers have struggled at times on both ends of the floor and appeared vulnerable for the first time in awhile in a game that dates back to 1932.

The Dukes, however, couldn’t take advantage. Coach Jim Ferry wondered before the game if his team was tough enough to hang inside.

Not quite.

Pitt outrebounded Duquesne 44-37, blocked five shots and held the Dukes to just 37 percent shooting.

“Highly disappointed in the way we played tonight,” Ferry said. “I’m highly disappointed in our effort on the glass. Very disappointed on the toughness side of the basketball. When plays needed to be made, Pitt made them.”

Duquesne entered leading the country in 3-point shooting, making 49 percent of its 3s.

The Dukes made just 7 of 22 on Friday, most of them in the second half as they tried to climb out of a sizable hole.