John Puk scored a career-high 14 points, including a key dunk with 47 seconds left, and Albany beat Duquesne 69-66 Friday night in each team's season opener.
Puk's dunk extended the Great Danes' lead to 69-65, and though a Derrick Colter free throw pulled Duquesne back within a possession, the Dukes could not close the gap.
Puk added eight rebounds to his stat line in 17 minutes of play.
The lead changed hands eight times in the second half, with Albany taking the final lead on Mike Black's 3-pointer with 2:14 to play. Black led the Great Danes with 15 points and four assists.
The season-opening win is the first for Albany since 2006-07, the last time it appeared in the NCAA tournament.
Colter, a freshman making his debut, finished with 17 points, and classmate Quevyn Winters had 15 points and 11 rebounds in his first game.
