PITTSBURGH -- Ovie Soko scored a career-best 29 points and Duquesne held on to defeat Fordham 87-81 in an Atlantic Ten Conference opener Wednesday night.

Duquesne (8-5, 1-0) jumped out to a 48-35 lead at the break and opened the second half with a 7-0 run to go up by 20. Fordham made three 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 77-74 with 2:21 remaining. Duquesne made all 10 of its points in the final 1:53 from the free throw line, and the Rams six free-throws and final layup weren't enough to push ahead.

Both teams finished with 45 rebounds and 19 assists.

Jon Severe led the Rams with a career-high 32 points after making 7 of 12 from distance. Fordham (7-7, 0-1) finished 16 of 41 on 3-pointers. Branden Frazier and Mandell Thomas added 15 points each and combined for eight makes from 3-point range.