PITTSBURGH, PA. – After a nine-point lead for the Cougs in the first half, the Dukes hung around and scored 40 points in the paint to squeak out a 72-71 win over the Cougars in UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. WSU would lead for most of the contest (17:42), leading by as much as 11 in the second half.
After a WSU 39-30 lead at halftime, the Cougs would run into foul trouble early in the second half, with the Dukes recording 14 fouls to WSU’s 22 fouls (14 fouls in the second half). The Dukes were unable to get going from beyond the arc (4-15) but would still shoot 51.1% (24-47) from the field and 52% (13-25) in the second half. Five Duquesne players scored in the double figures, the most by an opposing team since five San Diego players scored 10+ points on January 21, 2026.
Three Cougs finish in double-figures, with redshirt-freshman Jaylen Harrell leading the way with 19 points, going 7-for-10 from the field (3-5 from three), with four rebounds and a team-tying five assists. It was his third straight contest recording a career-high in points.
Lazerek Houston finished with 12 points and added five assists, his 19th career game recording 5+ assists. Tyler Kropp would round out the double-figure scoring for the Cougs and added a career-high two triples to round out his second career game with 10+ points.
WSU turned 13 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points and recorded a season-high 19 assists and nine steals. The Cougs fall in their first ever match up against Duquesne. It is their first one-point loss on the road since a 66-67 defeat on February 25 at LMU last season.
WSU Starters:
G | Jaylen Harrell
G | Lazerek Houston
G | Sebastian Akins
F | Ronnie Harrison
F | Ladji Dembele
Game Summary:
The Cougs would jump to a 7-6 lead after the first media timeout and dominate the glass, outrebounding the Dukes 7-2 with three offensive boards. Ronnie Harrison would grab three boards in the first four minutes in his first action as a Coug. After the media timeout, freshman Mohamed Sankhe and sophomore Tyler Kropp would each cash in their first points as Cougs with a pair of free throws from Sankhe and a left hook from Kropp to give WSU a 13-11 lead.
Tyler Kropp would help generate a 7-0 run with 10 minutes remaining in the half with his first triple as a Coug and give WSU a 20-14 lead. Reigning Freshman of the Week Jaylen Harrell would cash in his fourth triple of the season after a nice dish from Lazerek Houston and hold the narrow lead for the Cougs with just over nine to play.
Ronnie Harrison would record his first two points as a Coug with 6:30 to go in the half, thanks to another great pass from Houston and push their lead to seven.
In the closing minutes of the half the Dukes would use the paint to their advantage, closing the gap to a one-score game. Jamari Phillips for the Cougs would hit a deep three to become the fourth different Coug to record a three in the half and push their lead back to five.
The Cougs would record seven steals in the half, their most in the first half this season and their second straight game with five or more steals in the first half. Six different Cougs would record a steal with Sebastian Akins leading the way with two steals, his second straight game with multiple steals.
WSU would force a Dukes turnover in their final possession of the half, giving them one last chance with seven seconds left. Houston would find Jaylen Harrell in the corner for a three to beat the buzzer and take a 39-30 lead, their first time leading at the half this season. Cougs would make four of their last five three pointers and end the half on a 9-2 run.
Harrell would lead all scorers with 10 points, adding two threes with three assists. Kropp would record seven points and Dominik Robinson would add six points with four rebounds. WSU would record 12 assists on their 13 made field goals, going 5-10 from beyond the arc. Houston would record a season-high four assists in the half.
After a dunk to start the half for the Dukes, Harrison would respond for his first three of the season to push their lead to double-digits for the first time in the contest. A trio of threes from the Cougs would keep their nine-point lead after the first media timeout in the second half.
Cougs would see four early fouls in the first four minutes of the half, forcing them to dip into their bench early. Ladji Dembele would have four personal fouls with 16 minutes to go in the contest. The Dukes would again force two more fouls in the next minute of play, pushing it to six team fouls for WSU. Kropp would record his second three of the night and Jamari Phillips would knock down a step back jumper to push their lead back 10 points after the Dukes pulled within five.
Duquesne would go to the bonus with 13 minutes remaining in the half, with WSU committing eight fouls compared to the Dukes two total fouls. Two more fouls by the Cougs would put the Dukes in the double bonus with 10 minutes to play.
Jaylen Harrell would make four of his next five field goals and three of his next four from deep to push the Cougars lead to 11 (61-52). The Dukes however would able to hang around relying at the charity strike and an and-one to record a 10-2 run and pull within four points with five minutes to play.
Casey Jones would score the lay in and was able to create enough space for Harrell to lob it over a Dukes defender to give the Cougs a much needed bucket and quiet the Dukes run for the moment. A few turnovers from the Cougs would allow the Dukes to score on a couple fast break points and take the one point lead with less than three minutes to go.
On the other end, an Akins offensive rebound would allow Houston to make a three from the corner and take the 69-67 lead. With the game tied 69-69, a shot clock violation by the Cougs would negate a fast break dunk by the Dukes. The following possession for Duquesne would see a huge offensive rebound, but the Cougs would get a huge stop. Sebastian Akins would go up for aerobatic finish and help take the 71-69 lead with just under 30 seconds to go and force a Dukes timeout.
The Dukes would see an and-one finish with 12 seconds to go to take the 72-71 lead. The Dukes would play the foul game to take seconds away from the Cougs for their final possession, before a timeout by WSU with six seconds left. Another foul by the Dukes would give the Cougars 5.1 seconds left in their final possession. WSU would not be able to make the game-winning bucket and fall 71-72 in Pittsburgh.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Jaylen Harrell made his second career start with a career-high 19 points and is the only Coug with 10+ points in each of the first three games.
- Ronnie Harrison made his Coug debut after missing the first two games with an ankle injury.
- Tyler Kropp recorded his second career game scoring in double-figures (also: Jan. 21, 2026 at USC) and recorded a career-high two threes.
- Lazerek Houston recorded his 35th career game with 10+ points and his second straight scoring in double figures.
- Four different Cougs recorded 2+ threes with three different Cougs tying for a team-high five rebounds (Harrison, Akins and Robinson).
- The Cougs only recorded two free throws in the second half compared to the Dukes 19 free throw attempts.
UP NEXT:
The Cougars will be back in Beasley and host Northwest (Wash.) on Saturday, November 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT with coverage on Pac-12 YouTube.