PITTSBURGH—NJIT sophomore guard Damon Lynn had one of his best college games, leading both teams in points (27), assists (8), and steals (4), as the Highlanders edged previously unbeaten Duquesne 84-81 in men's basketball Saturday afternoon in Duquesne's AJ Palumbo Center.
 
The win at Duquesne was the first in program history for NJIT over a team from the highly-rated Atlantic 10 Conference. The Highlanders, who are early in their ninth season competing at the NCAA Division I level, had been 0-5 against Atlantic 10 teams before Saturday's victory in Pittsburgh.
 
The A10 ranks 8th-best among the 34 Division I conferences in the latest computer ratings compiled by Jeff Sagarin, whose work has been a regular feature in USA Today since 1985.
 
On top of that, Saturday's win in the Steel City was the first of the season on the road for the Highlanders, who came in with an 0-3 record in away games and 1-4 overall.
 
Duquesne, meanwhile, had trounced its first two 2014-15 opponents, Division II Bluefield State, 91-51, and Division I Abilene Christian, 102-81, in Texas.
 
While Lynn was near the top of his game with the 27 points (9-15 from the field, including 6-for-11 on 3-pointers), a career-best 8 assists and 4 steals, the sophomore standout had lots of company among the NJIT heroes in what was a strong team effort by the tenacious Highlanders.
 
Junior Ky Howard, who is playing the best ball of his NJIT career, contributed 16 points that included 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 5 assists, which matched his season high. And fellow junior Winfield Willis added 13 points, all of which came in the second half, and did not commit a turnover in 28 minutes' action in the fast-paced game.
 
Senior big men Daquan Holiday and Odera Nweke continued their strong contributions, as well. The duo had combined for 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots in a spirited 62-57 road loss at Marquette earlier in the week. Against Duquesne, they shot a combined 5-for-8 and collected 10 points and 13 rebounds between them. Holiday was NJIT's top rebounder with 7 and Nweke was right behind at 6.
 
Sophomore Tim Coleman had the biggest defensive play of the game, flying out to get a piece of 3-point attempt from the right corner by Duquesne's LG Gill with NJIT leading 83-81 and 9 seconds showing on the clock. The importance of deflecting Gill's shot could not be understated in a contest that saw both teams shoot a sizzling and indentical 12-for-24 from distance.
 
Duquesne, with a high-powered offense that had been averaging 96.5 points per game, had four double-figure scorers against NJIT, with junior Michah Mason's 18 points leading the Dukes. Mason, who led all of Division I in 3-point accuracy last year (.560), scored all 18 of his points against NJIT from 3-point distance, where he connected on 6-of-7 tries.
 
Junior Jordan Stevens posted 16 points for Duquesne, which also got 14 apiece from junior Derrick Colter and from freshman TySean Powell.
 
With NJIT holding a small lead in total team rebounds, 32-31, senior Dominique McKoy paced the Dukes on the glass with 5 rebounds. Mason, the deadly 3-point shooter, had a team-leading 6 assists and did not commit a turnover in his 27 minutes on the floor.
 
Much as it had in the nationally-televised loss at Marquette four days earlier, NJIT played a large portion of the game at Duquesne with the lead. Indeed, the Highlanders led for 23:53 and the score was tied for 6:01. Unlike Marquette, where NJIT led for most of the opening 30 minutes, but lost traction late, the Highlanders went ahead for good after Lynn's 3-pointer put the visitors on top 63-61 with 12:44 left and then NJIT held off the previously unbeaten Dukes.
 
A 3-point basket for Willis matched the Highlanders' biggest lead of the day, 9 points, at 75-66 with eight minutes on the clock.
 
Later, a traditional 3-point play by Willis matched the 9-point lead for the Highlanders when they went up 82-73 with 2:13 left.
 
However, the bucket that began that 3-point play by Willis would be NJIT's last field goal of the afternoon, making for some late drama over the final 133 seconds.
 
Gill made a 3-pointer for the Dukes on the next possession, pulling the home team to within 6 and then Colter's layup trimmed the lead some more. Fouled on the basket, Colter missed the ensuing free throw, setting the score at 82-78 with 44 seconds remaining.
 
NJIT's 22nd turnover of the game put the ball back in Duquesne's control and Colter nailed a 3-pointer that pulled the Dukes within one, 82-81, with 27 seconds still to play.
 
Howard, the NJIT junior, was fouled with 19 seconds left and made the second of two free throws for an 83-81 advantage.
 
Then came Coleman's close-out and block on Duquesne's Gill and Willis came away with the defensive rebound for the Highlanders before being quickly fouled. Willis made the first of two free throws with 8.9 seconds remaining and Colter's last-gasp bid for a 3-pointer failed.
 
The teams opened at a dizzying scoring pace, with the game tied, 25-25, after a traditional 3-point play by Duquesne's Powell with 9:52 left in the first half. That pace would have put both teams near 100 points if it had continued for the whole game.
 
The pace slowed ever-so-slightly, but the entertaining first half ended with DU on top, 44-41. Stevens, the junior college transfer who netted 27 in his Duquesne debut the previous time out, paced the Dukes at the half against NJIT, netting 10 points. He was followed by Mason (9 points) and Powell (8) in a balanced attack.
 
Lynn and Howard each had 11 points for the Highlanders at the break.
 
The second half began with the Duquesne lead toggling between one and four points before a Lynn 3-pointer knotted the score at 53-53 with 16:12 left.
 
In all, the game had 10 ties and eight lead changes, but only one of the ties came in the second half and the only lead change of the second half came on Lynn's three that put NJIT ahead to stay with 12:44 left.
 
Having played two strong road games this week, first the 62-57 loss at Marquette and then the 84-81 win at Duquesne, NJIT will rest a bit before visiting UMass Lowell in northern Massachusetts on Wednesday, December 3, at 7 pm.
 
The game will be a rematch of a game played on November 22, when the River Hawks nipped the Highlanders in Newark, 63-61.
 
NJIT and UMass Lowell also played twice last season, with the Highlanders prevailed in an early December 2013 game in Newark, before the River Hawks scored an early February 2014 victory in Lowell.
 
The upcoming game at UMass Lowell is part of a stretch that includes nine away games in 10 contests for NJIT between November 24 and December 28.