ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Duquesne's basketball season is finished because the Dukes never figured out how to finish a game.

In yet another frustrating defeat in which Duquesne failed to execute down the stretch, the Dukes lost to the La Salle Explorers, 82-79, in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament tonight at Boardwalk Hall.

After Reggie Jackson's 3-pointer gave Duquesne a 79-76 lead with 1:47 remaining, the Dukes committed three turnovers in the final minute. The most damaging miscue came on Kojo Mensah's pass that sailed out of bounds with 13.7 seconds to play and the Dukes trailing by a point.

Duquesne fouled La Salle's Ruben Guillandeaux with 12.7 seconds to go. He made both free throws to give the Explorers an 82-79 advantage. After timeouts by each team, Duquesne brought the ball up the floor and could have sent the game into overtime but Gary Tucker's contested 3-pointer from the wing ricocheted off the back rim as time ran out.