PITTSBURGH — Ryan Luther is one of just two holdovers from a Pittsburgh team that endured a rare loss to rival Duquesne in the City Game last December, one of the low points in a season full of them.

While another potentially long winter awaits for the rebuilding Panthers, Luther wasn’t about to be part of a team that dropped consecutive games to the Dukes for the first time in 37 years. The senior forward scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and provided his 11 new teammates with an emotional lift as Pitt pulled away for a 76-64 victory on Friday night.

“Being a senior, I’m trying to give energy to the young guys, play with a little bit more talk, little bit more emotion,” Luther said.

It showed. Luther slapped his hip after drilling a first-half 3-pointer and after the Dukes had trimmed a 12-point deficit to a single bucket in the second half, his steadying presence helped calm the Panthers down. A pair of lay-ups during a game-deciding 14-4 surge pushed Pitt (4-4) to its third straight victory.

Parker Stewart added a career-high 14 points for the Panthers. Marcus Carr had 15 points and five assists for Pitt and Shamiel Stevenson chipped in 13 points as Pitt improved to 54-32 in a series that dates back to 1932.

Mike Lewis II led the Dukes (2-3) with 20 points and Eric Williams Jr. finished with 18 points and eight rebounds but Duquesne wore down late. The Dukes shot 39 percent (14 of 36) in the second half and made only five baskets over the final 10 minutes.