Duquesne beats Purdue Fort Wayne 78-71 behind 16 points from Kerem Konan

PITTSBURGH — Kerem Konan had 16 points in Duquesne’s 78-71 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, the season opener for both teams.

Konan added nine rebounds for the Dukes. Josh Smith scored 16 points while shooting 5 for 8 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and 5 for 5 from the free-throw line. Yoav Berman finished 6 for 8 from the field to finish with 14 points.

DeAndre Craig finished with 17 points and five assists for the Mastodons. Tamaje Izuagbe added 12 points for Purdue Fort Wayne. Anthony Isaac finished with 10 points.

Konan scored seven points in the first half, and Duquesne went into the break trailing 37-36. Duquesne turned a one-point second-half advantage into a nine-point lead with an 8-0 run to make it 74-65 with 1:25 left. Berman scored 12 points in the second half.

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Both teams play Saturday. Duquesne hosts Central State (Ohio), and Purdue Fort Wayne hosts Albion.