PITTSBURGH - Duquesne, competing in its first Northeast Conference Championship, eliminated defending champion Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-2, before falling to St. Francis Brookyn in their second elimination match of the qualifying round.

The fifth-seeded Dukes opened with a 4-2 loss to No. 4 seed Saint Francis U, before rallying to defeat FDU. The Knights entered the tournament at the conference’s highest ranked team at No. 10 in the latest NTCA Top 25.

The Dukes, who were down 3-1 to St. Francis Brooklyn, staved off elimination twice, tying game five (174-174) then winning game six (185-178) before falling by just six pins in a game seven that went down to the final frame.

NTCA National Rankings Entering NEC Championship
No. 10 - Fairleigh Dickinson (#3 seed)
No. 12 - Sacred Heart (#1 seed)
No. 13 - LIU Brooklyn (#2 seed)
No. 16 - Saint Francis U (#4 seed)
No. 17 - Duquesne (#5 seed)
NR - St. Francis Brooklyn (#6 seed)

FRIDAY BAKER MATCHES

Qualifying Round Match 1
No. 5 seed Duquesne vs. No. 4 seed Saint Francis U (L, 2-4)
Game 1: W, 209-170
Game 2: L, 194-209
Game 3: W, 217-213
Game 4: L, 190-206
Game 5: L, 209-210
Game 6: L, 205-238

Qualifying Round Elimination Match 1
No. 5 seed Duquesne vs. No. 3 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (W, 4-2)
Game 1: W, 181-174
Game 2: L, 159-223
Game 3: W, 195-166
Game 4: W, 189-181
Game 5: L, 165-195
Game 6: W, 200-185

Qualifying Round Elimination Match 2
No. 5 seed Duquesne vs. No. 6 seed St. Francis Brooklyn (L, 2.5-4.5)
Game 1: L, 157-184
Game 2: L, 181-203
Game 3: W, 170-152
Game 4: L 190-202
Game 5: T, 174-174
Game 6: W, 185-178
Game 7: L, 152-158