Pittsburgh, PA-A valiant effort on the road came up one possession shy as the Cleveland State men's basketball team fell to Duquesne on the road in the regular season opener for both teams. The lead never grew larger than five points for either side as the game was back and forth the entire way, with Duquesne holding on for a 79-77 win.

The game featured 13 lead changes and 13 ties. The Vikings shot 43 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three.

Drew Lowder led the way for the Vikings with a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers in the contest. Lowder knocked down a career-high six three pointers and finished nine of 16 from the field. He finished a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe and added three rebounds and four assists.

Tae Williams recorded his fifth career double-double, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Williams finished 8-15 from the floor and 4-6 from the free throw line.

Tristan Enaruna was the third Viking in double figures, finishing with 15 points. Enaruna continued a streak of 23 consecutive games in double figures after recording 22 straight to end last season. He finished 5-13 from the field and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The game was a seesaw battle throughout. Duquesne rode the home crowd to a 17-12 advantage early, but the Vikings clawed back to tie it at 27 with a little over eight minutes to go in the first half. Williams went on a 5-0 spurt by himself, connecting on a fast-break layup and then a three-pointer to open up a 30-27 Viking lead headed into the under-8 media timeout.

Cleveland State held onto the three-point advantage and carried a 41-38 lead into the halftime locker room.

Duquesne responded quickly to start the second half, outscoring CSU by a 12-4 margin in the first four minutes to open up a five-point lead. The Vikings once again had an answer, as a Lowder three at the 13:09 mark tied the score back up at 55.

The lead continued to change hands down the stretch, and the Vikings appeared to seize control with a little under three minutes to play, as Jayson Woodrich nailed a key three-pointer to cap a 6-0 run and give the Vikings a three-point advantage at 72-69 with 2:50 remaining.

A foul on a three-point shot on the ensuing possession tied the score back up at 72. Duquesne seized control with a layup with a minute to play which put the Dukes up three at 77-74, and after a defensive stop the Dukes added a free throw to take a four-point lead with just 16 seconds remaining.

Lowder drained another three with under 10 seconds to play and following a 1-of-2 trip at the line the Vikings had a shot to tie or win the game with seven seconds remaining, but a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer was no good and Duquesne escaped with the win.

Both teams struggled from the free throw line, with Cleveland State finishing at 12-19(.633) and Duquesne finishing at 18-33(.545).

The Vikings return home to the Wolstein Center to host Defiance on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip and tickets can be purchased at this link.