PITTSBURGH - A second-half 3-point barrage by NJIT proved to be the difference as the Highlanders pulled away to defat Duquesne 78-67 in the Dukes' nonconference finale at the A.J. Palumbo Center.

Sincere Carry led DU with 14 points. Michael Hughes had 10 points and Eric Williams added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Dukes (9-4) who shot .358.

Zach Cooks led NJIT (12-3), which is tied for the NCAA Division I lead with seven road wins, with 22 points. San Antonio Brinson added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Highlanders, who entered the game receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 for the third consecutive week.

The Dukes cut a 13-point second half deficit to three on a Lamar Norman Jr. 3-pointer with 7:31 to go.

The Highlanders answered with 3-pointers from Cooks and Shyquan Gibbs to make it a nine-point game.

NJIT got another 3-pointer from Diandre Wilson and a bucket from Brinson to make it 68-56.

Duquesne would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Duquesne, which led for just 16 seconds on the afternoon, trailed 27-25 following a Marcus Weathers bucket at the 6:12 mark, before the Highlanders hit five of their final eight shots to take a 39-31 to the locker room. DU which shot .323 for the half, missed eight of its final 10 shots prior to intermission.

NJIT hit four of its first five shots of the second half to take a 48-35 lead on an Abdul Lewis 3-pointer.

Duquesne turned up the defensive pressure, forcing eight Highlanders turnovers in cutting the lead to 52-48. Cooks ended DU's 13-4 run - which started and ended with dunks from Williams Jr. - with a 3-pointer that made it 55-48 with just over 10 minutes left.

NJIT finished .475 from the field, including 8-of-20 from the 3-point arc. The Highlanders were 5-of-9 from distance in the second half.

Duquesne opens Atlantic 10 play at Davidson (9-4) on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 6:00 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by NBCSN.

NOTES

• DU outscored NJIT 21-12 off turnovers. NJIT outscored DU 38-22 in the paint. NJIT won the battle of the boards 46-35.
• Sincere Carry finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals for the Dukes.
• Michael Hughes extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to eight with 10 points.
• The starting five of Marcus Weathers, Eric Williams Jr., Michael Hughes, Frankie Hughes and Sincere Carry was Duquesne's eighth different combination in 13 games.
• There were two ties and one lead change … NJIT's largest lead was 16 at 76-60 with 1:02 left …Duquesne's largest lead was two, at the 12:29 mark of the first half … NJIT took the lead for good on a Sahyquan Gibbs 3-pointer with 12:28 left in the first half ... NJIT led for 37:46…Duquesne led for 0:16…The game was tied for 1:58.