PITTSBURGH, Pa. – In a back-and-forth affair that featured 15 ties and 33 lead changes, the La Salle University men's basketball team suffered a tough 101-94 loss in triple overtime at Duquesne in Atlantic 10 action on Saturday afternoon.
 
Five Explorers reached double figures in scoring, led by redshirt junior Pookie Powell who had 26 points and six assists. Freshman Jamir Moultrie also scored a career-high 17 points for La Salle, who were without leading scorer B.J. Johnson for the second straight game.
 
Late in the second half, a long three-pointer from Eric Williams Jr. pushed the Dukes (13-5, 4-1 A-10) in front, 65-63, with under a minute remaining before the Explorers (7-11, 1-4 A-10) came back.
 
Sophomore Isiah Deas hit a free throw then, after a missed one-and-one by the Dukes at the other end, Powell converted a driving hoop to give La Salle a one-point lead with just under 17 seconds on the clock.
 
A foul was called on the Explorers with 6.8 ticks to go, with Rene Castro-Caneddy hitting one to tie the game. Deas missed on a potential game-winning three as time expired to move the game to the first overtime period.
 
La Salle came out on fire in that extra session, as Powell hit his first two shots to give the Explorers a four-point lead. After a free throw from the Dukes, Moultrie connected on a three-pointer to push the visitors in front, 73-67, with 3:36 on the clock.
 
Duquesne slowly chipped away at the lead, scoring the next four points over a 1:24 span to pull to within 73-71. Senior Tony Washington, who had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, converted on a putback to re-up the margin to four with 1:47 to go.
 
Another free throw brought the Dukes to within one possession, before Powell hit a layup to push the score to 77-72. But the Explorers hit on just one of their next five free throws to leave the door ajar for the home team.
 
A three-pointer from Tarin Smith with 30.2 remaining started the comeback for the Dukes. Smith scored seven straight for the home team to put the score at 81-79 with 11 seconds left. After a trap in the backcourt, a turnover by La Salle led to a put-back layup from Kellon Taylor that tied the game at 81-81 with less than six seconds left.
 
The second overtime period saw the Dukes take a three-point lead into the final minute, before Stukes connected on a game-tying three from the right wing to put the score at 88-88. Both teams missed multiple chances to take the lead in the final seconds  as the contests went to triple overtime.
 
Stukes hit a short jumper in the lane to start the period before four straight from Duquesne put them in front by a pair. Powell hit two free throws to once again tie the game, but Mike Lewis II hit consecutive three-pointers to put the Dukes ahead for good.
 
In the first half, La Salle trailed 16-12 nearly midway through the stanza before a 10-0 run gave the team a six-point cushion.
 
The youthful trio of freshman Miles Brookins, Deas and Moultrie scored all 10 of the team's points during the spurt, and closed with 24 of La Salle's 34 points in the opening half.
 
Duquesne responded with 10 consecutive points to re-take the lead, and held a slim 35-34 advantage at intermission. No team had larger than a four-point lead in the second half which led to the nip-and-tuck finish.

Lewis II closed with 25 points and Smith had 21 for the Dukes, who moved to 11-2 at home this season.

La Salle continues Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday, Jan. 17 against Fordham. Tipoff at Tom Gola Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.