PITTSBURGH — The Duquesne Dukes (3-5, 0-0 A10) fell to the Bowling Green Falcons (4-4, 0-0 MAC) Wednesday at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Four of the Falcons’ starters had double digit points, with Joe Reece grabbing 12 rebounds for the double-double.
Duquesne stretched the lead to eight early in the second half, 51-43, but Bowling Green kept up. A three-point shot by Josiah Fulcher gave the Falcons a one point lead, 60-59, with just over six minutes remaining.
Duquesne fought back with four free throws from Leon Ayers and the teams continued swapping leads until it was all knotted up 66-66 with 3:44 to play. The Dukes took a 70-66 lead on a free throw by Ayers, a jumper by Primo Spears, and a free throw from Spears. But 12 unanswered points by Bowling Green were enough to give the Falcons the win, including six straight free throws.
Bowling Green took an early 4-0 lead, but the Dukes went on a 10-0 run. The Falcons finally put a stop to it with a Daeqwon Plowden three-pointer, but Duquesne kept their foot on the gas. The lead grew to as much as 11, before Bowling Green came touring back and eventually took a 29-28 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Tobi Omani and Tyson Acuff gave Duquesne the lead for good as they took a 38-32 advantage into the locker room.
Ayers led the Dukes in points with 20, with Kevin Easley (18 points) and Tre Williams (12 points) also getting into double digits. The Dukes finished the game 9-for-26 from beyond the arc and 37.1% from the field. Bowling green went 9-for-17 from beyond the arc and finished the game shooting 40.5% from the field.
MAJOR FOCUS: DUQUESNE FALLS TO BOWLING GREEN, 78-70
