Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team closed out a three-game homestand at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Wednesday, falling to Maine, 61-56. The Dukes slipped to 2-8 (.200) overall during the 2024-25 season.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Senior guard
Tre Dinkins III gave Duquesne a 54-50 advantage with 3:21 to play with a three-pointer from the corner, but the Black Bears closed on an 11-2 run to pull out the victory. On the ensuing possession for Maine (7-5) after the Dinkins III triple, AJ Lopez, who led all scorers in the game with 17 points, broke free on the near wing and launched a three-pointer that hit the front of the rim, bounced up and off the backboard and through the cylinder. Empty possessions by each team followed before Lopez gave the Black Bears the lead for good, 55-54, with 1:36 left with a driving layup. The contest featured eight ties and 12 lead changes, but the Dukes were unable to find the basket after the three-pointer from Dinkins until 6.5 seconds remained on the clock courtesy of a layup from senior forward
Jahsean Corbett.
QUOTABLE
"At some point you have to stop beating yourself," head coach
Dru Joyce III said. "The turnovers. Nineteen turnovers. A bad job of taking care of the basketball and not being strong with the ball. Twenty offensive rebounds, only getting to the line 11 times. We have to take advantage of our opportunities. Too many extra possessions where we came up empty tonight. You have to learn to trust. It's part of the process in team building. I think we have a good level of trust, but tonight we were just rushed. Unsettled. We had our chances, but we shot it like it was a hot potato. We have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out."
DOWNTOWN
Duquesne found its range from beyond the arc against Maine, finishing with a season-high 11 three-pointers. Dinkins III converted four of his six attempts in pacing the Dukes with 12 points and also added five rebounds and a pair of assists, while senior guard
Kareem Rozier scored nine points thanks to a 3-for-8 performance from deep while matching a season high with five assists. Sophomore
Jakub Necas added seven points and four rebounds in just over 14 minutes of action, connecting on both of his three-point attempts.
NOTES
Corbett finished with a double-double for Duquesne with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his first with the Dukes and 20th of his NCAA Division I career … Corbett posted six offensive caroms as the Dukes posted more boards on the offensive glass (20) than on the defensive end (19) … Duquesne held a 39-28 cushion in rebounds … Maine shot 81.3 percent (13-for-16) at the free-throw line and received 12 points and four steals from Kellen Tynes and 10 points and five boards from Quion Burns … Tynes entered Wednesday's game ranked second in NCAA Division I in steals with 34 … Sophomore forward
Eli Wilborn returned to action Wednesday, scoring two points and posting three offensive rebounds in just under seven minutes … Maine outscored Duquesne in points in the paint (24-18), points off turnovers (17-10) and fastbreak points (16-5).
QUOTABLE
"I do believe we're not a finished product by any means," Joyce III said. "We do have to continue to learn through our mistakes. Sometimes you try to go for it on your own and you get in your own way. You're chasing the play. I thought we did a little bit of that tonight. You're always up against an opponent that is going to show their will, and I thought they grinded that game out better than we did at the end."
UP NEXT
Duquesne heads to Akron, Ohio, Saturday, Dec. 14, to take part in the Morgan & Morgan Classic at Lebron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. The Dukes will host Towson in a 6:00 p.m. tip.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and information on Duquesne basketball, follow the Dukes on X and Instagram.
