PITTSBURGH - Primo Spears' foul line jumper with 3.6 seconds left proved to be the difference as Duquesne (4-7)  snapped a three-game losing streak with a 64-62 win over New Hampshire (4-4) on Saturday afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Spears and Kevin Easley Jr. led five Dukes in double figures with 12 points each. Jackie Johnson III and Tyson Acuff scored 11 and Austin Rotroff contributed 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds off the bench.

Duquesne set a school record for fewest turnovers in a game with three and held UNH to an opponent season-low .389 from the field in notching its first win since Nov. 28.

UNH tied it on a pair of Tayler Mattos free throws with 1:07 left.

DU's Leon Ayers III missed a layup with 49 seconds remaining, setting up a Wildcats' possession.

Mattos missed short corner jumper and Easley Jr. was able tip the ball out to Spears. The Dukes ran the clock down before Spears went between his legs three times before swishing a jumper from the left elbow.

Three timeouts were called before UNH inbounded. Blondeau Tchoukuiegno caught the inbound pass put could not elude Spears who contested a shot from just inside midcourt that was left of the rim at the final horn.

UNH took its first lead at 38-36 on a Jayden Martinez 3-pointer and extended the lead for four on a pair of free throws.

It was then that DU answered with an 8-0 run, including four points from Rotroff, to take a 46-42 lead on a Johnson III three-point play.  

Ayers III gave Duquesne a 48-44 lead on a jumper in the lane, before UNH's Nick Guadarrama hit a 3-pointer and DU's Tre Williams was whistled for a foul off the ball. The Wildcats converted the possession into a basket to take a one-point lead.

The Dukes, who missed their first six 3-point attempts in the second half, tied it at 52-52 on an Acuff 3-pointer.

There were six lead changes - with neither team leading by more than two - before Spears' final basket.

Johnson III, who was making his first career start, scored eight of DU's first 12 points to help the Dukes to a 17-6 lead.

The Wildcats, who opened the game 2-of-10, found the range from deep, hitting four 3-pointers to make it 25-24.

Rotroff's second if three dunks on the afternoon gave Duquesne a 31-26 lead at the half.

Duquesne, which is in the midst of final exams, returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 19 when it takes on UC Irvine at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The game, set for a 1:00 p.m. tip, will be free to fans.


NOTES

• The previous DU school record for fewest turnovers in a game was five, accomplished seven times, with the last coming on Mar. 7, 2015 vs. Davidson.
• Duquesne started the freshman backcourt of Jackie Johnson III and Primo Spears for the first time. Johnson III, who was making his first start of the season, scored eight of the Dukes' first 10 points. He finished with 11. It was his fourth double-digit game of the season, and second in a row.
• Austin Rotroff came off the bench to post a season high 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds. The rebound total  eclipsed his previous career high of 8 set vs. Maryland Eastern Shore nearly three years ago to the day (Dec. 13, 2018). It was his second career double-digit scoring game. Rotroff went 5-of-5 from the field with three dunks.
• Tyson Acuff came off the bench to score 11 points and add five rebounds and a pair of steals in 24 minutes.
• DU outscored the UNH bench 28-17.
• Duquesne's largest lead was 11 at 17-6 with 11:14 left in the first half ... New Hampshire's largest lead was four, the last of which came at 42-38 with 12:57 left ... there were six ties and 10 lead changes before Spears' game-winner with 3.6 seconds left ... UNH led for 5:35 ... Duquesne led for 32:01.