BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - Billy Lucas rushed for a career-high 137 yards with a touchdown and Cyrus Holder recorded a pair of touchdown receptions to help Duquesne secure a 34-26 road victory at LIU in a Northeast Conference (NEC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. 

The Dukes snapped a two-game skid to improve to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in NEC play. The Sharks saw their two-game winning streak end and fall to 2-7 and 2-3, respectively. 

With Duquesne trailing 14-3 early in the second quarter, Holder - a Long Island native - went up and snagged a two-yard touchdown grab from Darius Perrantes over a Shark defender to minimize the LIU lead to 14-10. The 12-play, 84-yard scoring drive was highlighted by a 24-yard reception by Dominic Thieman on a third down play in addition to a Perrantes-to-Holder 17-yard completion. 

Later in the quarter, Perrantes found Davie Henderson across the middle for a 42-yard touchdown connection to put the Dukes ahead 17-14. Henderson hauled in the Perrantes pass at the Sharks' 10-yard line before shaking off two LIU tacklers and trotting into the end zone. 

Duquesne would take that three-point edge into the locker room as a Paul Inzerillo field goal from 42 yards was wide left as time expired in the first half. 

The Dukes extended their lead in the third stanza when Perrantes hit Holder over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown strike, putting the Dukes on top 24-14.

After LIU responded with a six-yard touchdown rush by Jonathan DeBique, Lucas broke off a 67-yard run to pay dirt, giving Duquesne a 31-21 advantage with 2:11 showing on the third quarter clock. 

The Sharks drove into Duquesne territory early in the fourth quarter, but Maxi Hradecny and Kevin Kurzinger each recorded sacks on third and fourth down, respectively, resulting in an LIU turnover on downs. 

This led to a 24-yard field goal by Joey Corado to widen the lead to 34-21 with just under six minutes remaining. Lucas registered runs of 15 and 11 yards on the Dukes'  scoring march which drained 7:15 of clock. 

The Sharks answered with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Camden Orth to Tosin Oyekanmi, shrinking the deficit to 34-28 with 4:35 to play. 

Duquesne would pick up a pair of first downs on its next drive before LIU forced the Dukes to punt. 

The Sharks regained possession with 59 ticks remaining and moved the ball to the Duquesne 30-yard line, but the Dukes forced a pair of incomplete passes to seal the conference road triumph. 

Lucas toted the ball 20 times for 137 yards and a touchdown for Duquesne. It marks his third career 100-yard rushing performance and bests his previous career high of 110 yards set against Bryant on March 28, 2021 and again in the NEC Championship game vs. Sacred Heart on April 11, 2021. 

Perrantes, who returned to the Dukes' lineup after missing last week's game against Saint Francis U due to injury, completed 19-of-32 pass attempts for 215 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Saturday represented Perrantes' third game with at least three touchdown passes in six starts for Duquesne. 

Holder paced the Dukes' receiving corps with six receptions for 76 yards and a pair of scores, marking his fourth career multiple touchdown game. His last two-touchdown effort came last season against these same Sharks in a 35-17 win at Arthur J. Rooney Field on March 21, 2021.

Henderson tallied two catches for 46 yards with a touchdown while Thieman registered a season-high four receptions for 41 yards. 

Owens and Wykeen Gill chipped in three receptions apiece for Duquesne. Gill also returned a pair of kickoffs for 62 yards, including a career-long 50-yard return in the first quarter which set up a 45-yard field goal by Andrew Smith to get the Dukes on the board.

Smith's 45-yard field goal is the longest by a Duquesne kicker since Jacob Gill nailed a 45-yarder in a win over LIU on Oct. 5, 2019. He was also 4-of-4 on PATs in the win. 

CJ Barnes paced the Dukes with a career-high 11 tackles (nine solo) while Jahan Worth finished with eight stops (six solo) with 2.5 tackles for loss and a half sack. 

Leandro DeBrito had seven tackles (six solo) with a pass breakup for Duquesne. Kurzinger recorded six tackles on the day including a sack for a loss of 12 yards.

Tim Lowery registered his first career interception for the Dukes, as well. 

The Sharks posted a 460-376 advantage in total yards, but Duquesne outgained LIU 161-112 on the ground. 

The Dukes held a 31:35-28:25 edge in time of possession and finished 9-of-15 on third downs while the Sharks converted 7-of-14 third-down attempts. 

Duquesne committed just one penalty for five yards while Sharks had eight penalties for a total of 71 yards. 

GAME NOTES

• Lucas has totaled 236 rushing yards in the last two games.His 137 yards are the most by a Duquesne running back since A.J. Hines tallied 142 rushing yards in a 20-6 win over Sacred Heart on Oct. 19, 2019. 
• Perrantes now has three games with at least three touchdown passes in his first six starts as a Duke. 
• Holder finished with two touchdown receptions for the fourth time in his career and for the second time at Duquesne. He also hauled in two touchdown catches in a win over LIU on March 21, 2021. While at Saint Francis U, he had two touchdowns against Duquesne on Oct. 20, 2018 and at Wagner as a freshman on Nov. 19, 2016
• With the win, Duquesne guarantees its ninth consecutive season of finishing .500-or-better. The Dukes have recorded at least a .500 record in 11 of the last 12 seasons and 14 of 17 seasons under head coach Jerry Schmitt.
• Sacred Heart moved into sole possession of first place in the NEC with a win at Saint Francis U on Saturday. The Dukes, Red Flash, Bryant and Central Connecticut sit in a four-way tie for second place with 3-2 records in conference action with two weeks left to play.  

NEXT UP
The Dukes welcome Central Connecticut to Arthur J. Rooney Field next Saturday, Nov. 13 for a Northeast Conference matchup at noon ET. Duquesne is set to honor its seniors prior to the contest against the Blue Devils.

CCSU has won two-straight games following a 30-15 victory over Bryant on Saturday.