Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Duquesne's Kieron Achara goes up for a shot against Lafayette's Andrei Capusan in action yesterday at the Palumbo Center. Click photo for larger image.

It's nearly impossible to pinpoint the low point of a once-glorious Duquesne University basketball program that has been downtrodden for the better part of the past quarter century.

But an 85-71 loss to Lafayette yesterday in the home opener at Palumbo Center has to qualify as one of the saddest moments for the Dukes, who are 1-3 and, based on this lackluster performance, face a long winter and their 11th consecutive losing season.

There's still a lot of basketball to be played, that's for sure, but Duquesne will have to find a way to play it a lot better than it did against a rebuilding Lafayette team from the Patriot League.

"Lafayette took it to us," Duquesne coach Danny Nee said. "Obviously, I didn't expect this. I thought we'd play at a higher level."

The Dukes, who showed some promise despite losing two out of three in the NABC Classic at Albuquerque, N.M., last weekend, showed little spark against the Leopards (1-0).

"This was a step backwards," Nee said. "We didn't compete. They beat us in every facet of the game. Lafayette came in and outplayed Duquesne. I take responsibility for that."

Nee tried everything. And everybody. He used every combination of players he could think of. He turned to freshmen DeVario Hudson and Chauncey Duke for help. Neither scored in a total of 14 minutes.

Nothing worked.

"There aren't five guys who played and I could say, 'Bingo, they're the best five players. That's my starting lineup,' " Nee said. "I never thought our chemistry has been good. Our guys can stop pretending they understand."

While Duquesne stumbled and bumbled, Lafayette picked up confidence with each passing minute and stretched its lead to as many as 18 points in the second half. Lafayette, with only one returning starter, outrebounded, outshot and outworked Duquesne.

Lafayette led, 44-34, at halftime on Matt Betley's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"We didn't defend the threes," Nee said, referring to the fact that the Leopards were 9 of 19 from beyond the arc.

"We didn't play any defense."

Lafayette was led by Marcus Harley's 19 points that included 4 of 7 3-pointers, Jamal Hilliard's 15 points and Sean Knitter's 14 points and eight rebounds.

Duquesne junior guard Bryant McAllister scored a career-high 24 points, senior guard Martin Osimani had 16 to tie his career high and sophomore center Kieron Achara had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

One reason Duquesne's offense sputtered was that Jack Higgins went 1 of 10 from the field

Nee was asked how he'll get the Dukes ready for their game Wednesday against West Virginia at Palumbo.

"We'll practice today. We'll practice tomorrow, just like always," he said. "I'm going to get the attention of our players this week, I guarantee that."

NOTES -- Duquesne scored eight consecutive points to take its biggest lead at 8-2. ... Lafayette had 14 assists and 17 turnovers; Duquesne 8 and 12. ... Osimani had three of Duquesne's nine steals. ... Lafayette shot 51 percent from the field (25-49) and 81.3 percent from the line (26-32); Duquesne was 34.8 percent (24-69) and 81 percent (17-21). ... Lafayette's biggest lead was 79-61 with 2:46 to play.