LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) -Marcello Trigg accounted for four touchdowns and Bucknell held off a furious late rally for a wild 48-42 victory over Duquesne on Saturday night.
Trigg threw a pair of long touchdown passes in the second quarter and the Bison withstood a 28-point outburst in the fourth quarter by Duquesne to hold on for the win.
Trigg tossed touchdown passes of 44 yards to Josh Smith and 42 yards to Shaun Pasternack in the second quarter as Bucknell (1-0) took a commanding 42-7 halftime lead.
With the help of two Bucknell fumbles and a turnover on downs, Duquesne (0-1) roared back in the second half, ripping off 35 unanswered points but failing to come up with an onside kick in the closing seconds.
Connor Dixon threw six touchdown passes - two to Conrad Carter - for the Dukes, who mounted just one substantial drive in the first half but gained 393 yards after halftime. Dixon was 30-for-47 passing for 429 yards.
Trigg completed 14 of 16 passes for 290 yards and scored on two short runs. A.J. Kizekai rushed for 98 yards to lead the Bison ground attack, which tallied 247 yards rushing. Pasternack had seven catches for 166 yards.
Alex Roberson had 11 catches for 154 yards and one touchdown, and Sean Bunevich, Cleodis Williams and Brooks Roorback added touchdown catches for the Dukes.
The game featured 1,019 yards of total offense between the two teams, with Bucknell picking up 537 yards and Duquesne tallying 485 yards.
