Last on the Washington State Cougars’ checklist of new-cast progress apparently is nabbing a first men’s basketball victory.

They did everything but beat Duquesne on Tuesday night.

Leading for 38 1/2 minutes, the Cougars were caught - and passed - in the final seconds as the Dukes grabbed a 72-71 non-conference victory at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Kerem Konan’s three-point play gave Duquesne a 72-71 lead with 12.8 seconds remaining. 

After a timeout and two Duquesne fouls, the Cougars set up Lazerek Houston with a one-on-one opportunity with 5.1 seconds to go. He got past the free-throw line with Arness Lawson right on his hip and got off a 14-foot floater that softly rimmed out at the buzzer.

WSU mostly has itself to blame in the final minutes, committing three turnovers over its final six possessions.

Sebastian Akins gave the Cougars their final lead, 71-69, with a driving layup with 32 seconds remaining.

Here are three instant takeaways in WSU’s loss to Duquesne:

1. Late mistakes prove costly for Washington State

WSU held its largest lead of the game - 62-51 - after Jaylen Harrell’s putback basket with 8:36 to go.

But Duquesne would not go away, buoyed by a 19-2 second-half advantage from the free-throw line.

“We had a couple bad ones (fouls) early in the half that were avoidable,” WSU coach David Riley told the Cougars Sports Network radio crew after the game. “There are fouls we can live with, but there are fouls we can’t - the push-in-back stuff, and stuff where we are using our hands down low.”

The first turnover was an unfortunate break after Ronnie Harrison reached back for a pass behind him and rolled his left ankle, losing the ball and turning over possession with 3:40 remaining that led to an easy Lawson bucket on the other end.

After missing the team’s first two games, Harrison played 22 minutes before re-injuring the ankle. He needed help off the floor.

The second turnover was on a bad pass, and the final miscue with 1:23 to go was a shot clock violation.

There were other deficiencies Riley pointed to - rebounding, Duquesne’s 40 points in the paint and the Dukes shooting better than 60 percent on two-point shots - but added this was a game the Cougars should have found a way to close out.

“It is frustrating because there is a clear progression with our team. We are getting better,” Riley said. “But this is unacceptable for us to be in these kinds of games where we controlled the whole game, and we’ve just got to close it out.”

2. Jaylen Harrell continues to emerge as WSU's top performer

A day after being named the Pacific-12 Conference freshman of the week, Jaylen Harrell set a career-high with a team-leading 19 points in the loss to the Dukes.

It wasn’t just the scoring at all three levels, either. Harrell was a facilitator with five assists. He pulled down four rebounds. He added a steal. The redshirt freshman transfer from Providence was clutch all over the floor.

Harrell had 12 of those 19 points in the second half, including two 3-pointers that were at the end of the shot clock.

Through three games, he is averaging 16.7 points per game. And with his running-mate chemistry alongside Houston, these are two guards who should remain fixtures in the starting lineup.

“We are figuring out who we can trust out there,” Riley said.

3. Tyler Kropp provides a much-needed spark off the bench

The Cougars rolled out their third different starting lineup with Harrison returning - and Tyler Kropp coming off the bench for the first time this season.

It was easily Kropp’s best showing - 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in 15 minutes of action. He went scoreless in the team’s first two games.

The 6-foot-10 Northwestern transfer was aggressive from the minute he entered the game - scoring on an 8-foot hook shot at the 13:46 mark of the first half.

Three minutes later, he canned a 3-pointer, then got loose in the lane for a 6-foot leaner on back-to-back trips, giving the team instant offense.