Feb 6, 2002

Final Stats

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Wayne Smith scored a season-high 25 points and Duquesne came on in the second half to defeat Massachusetts, 78-69, in Atlantic 10 action Wednesday night.

The victory snapped Duquesne's 16-game losing streak to Massachusetts. It was the Dukes second consecutive victory and second in the Atlantic 10. The Minutemen have lost two in a row and seven of their past 10 games.

Massachusetts (9-11, 3-6) led by as many as 14 points in the first half and held a 47-37 advantage at the intermission. But the Dukes (7-14, 2-8) got hot in the second half and went on a 20-9 run to take a 72-65 lead following a three-point play by Kevin Forney with 3:25 left to play.

Duquesne's first lead of the game came with 5:44 left when Smith drove the baseline for a layup. That put the Dukes on top 64-63. Smith then followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Ronell Blizzard tipped in a missed shot with 4:14 left to play to cut the lead to two points but Aaron Lovelace drove for a layup for the Dukes and Forney followed with the three-point play.

Shannon Crooks paced Massachusetts with 19 points and Kitwana added 17 and Anthony Anderson scored 14. Lovelace and Forney scored 12 points each for the Dukes.