Minutemen rally but fall to Dukes.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Matt Vautour

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - UMass erased a 19-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the second half, but the Minutemen couldn't finish and fell to Duquesne, 91-81, last night in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

The teams stayed within a basket of each other for most of the second half. But with 5:22 remaining and Duquesne ahead by three, senior point guard Chris Lowe, who'd been helping on a double team, was late getting back to Eric Evans. Lowe fouled the Dukes' freshman guard, but Evans' 3-pointer dropped in despite the contact, and so did the free throw to put Duquesne up, 73-66.

"That was the turnaround right there," Lowe said. "I fouled a kid on a 3-pointer, and he made the free throw. That was the turnaround of the game."

Duquesne will play second-seeded Rhode Island at 6:30 tonight in the quarterfinals. UMass finished 12-18.

Freshman Melquan Bolding led the Dukes (19-11) with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Lowe and Tony Gaffney put up impressive numbers in their final college games. Lowe tied a career high with 23 points. Gaffney had 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Luke Bonner had four points and four rebounds before fouling out.

"I'd like to thank my seniors. They were great teammates and great student-athletes," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "It made my transition easier...