Sophomores lead Duquesne past UMass Lowell 83-71

Nov 25, 2018, 03:38 pm

PITTSBURGH -- Eric Williams Jr. finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four steals and Michael Hughes scored a career-high 19 to power Duquesne to an 83-71 victory over UMass Lowell on Sunday.

Williams hit all five of his shots, including three 3-pointers, and 9 of 13 free throws for the Dukes (4-1). Hughes knocked down 8 of 10 shots, grabbed six rebounds and added two blocks. Marcus Weathers pitched in with 10 points and six boards.

Williams, Hughes and Weathers are all sophomores for the Dukes, who led the River Hawks 46-33 at halftime. It was Duquesne's highest-scoring first half of the season. The Dukes are now 18-1 when they have the lead with five minutes left in the game under second-year coach Keith Dambrot.

Alex Rivera, who averages 13.8 points per game off the bench, scored 19 to lead UMass Lowell. Rivera came in shooting 43 percent from 3-point range and buried 5 of 9 attempts against the Dukes. The rest of the River Hawks (4-4) made just 2 of 11 from distance. Obadiah Noel scored 18 and Josh Gantz had 14 points and six boards. Duquesne held Lowell's second-leading scorer Christian Lutete (15 per game) to two points on 1-of-5 shooting.