GAME 13
Cleary (2-10) vs. Duquesne (4-8)
Friday, Dec. 27, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Noah Buono ('22)
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team continues a three-game homestand at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse with its final non-conference game of the regular season Friday with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Cleary.
 
- The Dukes, winners of four of their last six, opened their homestand with a 70-54 victory over UC Irvine (Dec. 21). Senior forward Jahsean Corbett led Duquesne in the win over the Anteaters with 15 points and eight rebounds while also adding three assists, a steal and a block. Corbett shot 6-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 
- Guards Tre Dinkins III and Cam Crawford each scored 13 points in the win over UC Irvine as each finished 3-for-4 from downtown.
 
- As a team, the Dukes set a season high in three-point field goals (14) and three-point field goal percentage (.560) as well as field goal percentage (.491) and assists (18) in the victory over the Anteaters while also holding their seventh consecutive opponent under 70 points.
 
- Over the last seven contests, opponents are averaging just 58.3 points per game against Duquesne.
 
- The 2024-25 season marks the 109th year of Duquesne basketball. The Dukes started play in 1913-14 (DU did not field a team in 1944-45-46 due to World War II). Duquesne, which has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1971 & 1972, is looking to record three consecutive 20-win campaigns for the first time since finishing with four straight 20-win seasons from 1952 to 1955. The Dukes are also 10 wins shy of 1,500 as an NCAA program.
 
- The leading active scorer for the Dukes is senior forward Jahsean Corbett, who owns career totals of 1,414 points and 791 rebounds. Corbett amassed totals of 1,303 points and 725 rebounds in three seasons at Chicago State prior to transferring to Duquesne.
 
- Jahsean Corbett has appeared in 105 career games at the NCAA Division I level, each as a member of the starting lineup. His 100th career start came in a 67-54 win for the Dukes over Old Dominion (Nov. 26) in the final game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
 
- The closest member of the Dukes to 1,000 career points is redshirt junior guard Maximus Edwards, who enters Saturday's game with 799 career points. Named the 2023 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Edwards scored 722 in two seasons at George Washington before transferring to Duquesne.
 
- The Dukes will wrap up the 2024 calendar year by opening Atlantic 10 play after hosting Cleary, concluding their three-game homestand Tuesday, Dec. 31, with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Rhode Island. Four of the first six games of the A-10 schedule for Duquesne come at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, including home games against Saint Joseph's (Jan. 8), St. Bonaventure (Jan. 18) and Dayton (Jan. 21). The first Atlantic 10 road game for the Dukes is set for Saturday, Jan. 4, at Davidson.   
 
At The Helm – Dru Joyce III was named the 18th head coach in the 109-year history of Duquesne basketball March 28, 2024. Joyce III, a native of Akron, Ohio, spent two seasons as associate head coach for the Dukes under Keith Dambrot from 2022 to 2024, helping guide Duquesne to an overall record of 45-25 (.643), including a 20-16 (.556) mark in the Atlantic 10, during that span. The Dukes made an appearance in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) before earning the automatic bid for the A-10 in the 2024 NCAA Championship by winning four games in five days en route to the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship crown in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Barclays Center. Duquesne, as a No. 11 seed, made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1977 and earned its first victory in the championship since 1969 thanks to a 71-67 win over No. 6 seed BYU in Omaha, Neb., at CHI Health Center Arena. 
 
Scouting the Cougars – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) program located in Howell, Mich. ... Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) member ... Friday marks the second meeting in the all-time series between the Dukes and Cougars ... Duquesne earned a 95-47 victory in the first meeting Dec. 30, 2023, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse ... Duquesne scored the first seven points of the contest and with less than five minutes in the opening half opened up a double-digit advantage, 15-5, after a dunk from David Dixon ... One of three players to score in double figures against the Cougars, Dixon finished with 12 points and five rebounds, converting six of his eight attempts from the floor ... The win marked No. 100 for head coach Keith Dambrot with the Dukes ... Dambrot joined Chick Davies, the school's all-time leader in career victories with 314, Red Manning and Dudey Moore to amass 100 career victories as a head coach at Duquesne ... Manning won 247 games for the Dukes from 1959 to 1974, while Moore finished with 191 victories in 10 seasons from 1949 to 1958 ... Davies coached 21 seasons at Duquesne in two different stints, including 1925 to 1943 and again in 1947-48 ... Dambrot picked up his 100th victory with the Dukes against Carl Thomas, who Dambrot coached while an assistant at Eastern Michigan and also spent time on Duquesne's coaching staff before being named the head coach at Cleary in 2022 ... Dusan Mahorcic, making his Duquesne debut at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, finished 5-for-5 from the field while going 5-for-7 at the free-throw line and tied for game-high honors in scoring with 15 points with  guard Jimmy Clark III ... Mahorcic and Clark III were perfect from the floor against the Cougars, combining to shoot 11-for-11 from the field ... Clark III added four assists and three steals in the win ... Cleary is led by junior guard Bennie Crenshaw, Jr., who is averaging 11.0 points per game and is shooting 38.6 percent (49-for-127) ... Sophomore forward Chris Williams paces the Cougars in rebounding with an average of 4.8 per contest.
 
UC Irvine Leftovers – The Dukes improved to 3-0 all-time against the Anteaters, including home wins each of the last two seasons that followed a 76-54 win in the first meeting between the two programs in 2021 in Akron, Ohio ... Duquesne opened with a 10-0 run that forced the Anteaters to call timeout just 2:53 into the contest ... The triple was the feature film of the first half, as the Dukes set a season high by connecting for 12 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action ... UC Irvine would close to within 18-15 with 8:41 left before the break, but triples from Jakub Necas, Cam Crawford and David Dixon propelled Duquesne to a 27-17 cushion en route to a 43-24 advantage at the break ... UC Irvine owned a 38-33 edge in rebounding and also owned cushions in points in the paint (24-22), second chance points (13-9), fast break points (20-11) and bench points (26-21) ... No member of the Anteaters scored in double figures, with Myles Che leading the way with nine points.
 
Defense Wins Championships – The Dukes have rounded into form defensively, as over the last seven games opponents are averaging just 58.3 points per contest. The seven foes have combined to convert 35.9 percent (139-for-387) of its shots from the field, including a 35-for-119 (29.4%) performance from beyond the arc. Duquesne enters Friday's game against Cleary at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense this season, yielding 66.3 points per game. The Dukes are looking to hold their eighth consecutive opponent under 70 points Friday, which would mark the longest streak by the program in over 60 years. During the 1961-62 season, Duquesne held 10 consecutive opponents to under 70 points. That team, under the direction of Red Manning, finished with an overall record of 22-7 (.759), was ranked No. 17 in the final poll by the Associated Press and finished fourth in the 1962 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The 1961-62 Dukes allowed just 61.1 points per game, which ranks third in program history. In allowing 66.3 points per game overall so far this season, it would mark the best scoring defense in program history in the shot clock era (since 1985-86).
 
Did You Know? The Dukes have won 31 consecutive games dating back to the 2018-19 campaign when holding opponents to under 60 points thanks to a 70-54 win over UC Irvine (Dec. 21) that opened a three-game homestand at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Included in that stretch is a perfect 19-0 mark in three years Dru Joyce III has been a member of the coaching staff on the Bluff, including two years as associate head coach from 2022 to 2024. 
 
Open Range – Tre Dinkins III is developing into a consistent scorer for Duquesne, as the senior guard has found his range from deep in recent weeks. In contributing 13 points in a 70-54 win over UC Irvine (Dec. 21) that opened a three-game homestand, Dinkins III finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Over the last four games, Dinkins III is averaging 13.8 points per game and has shot 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from deep as well as 47.2 percent (17-for-36) overall. He enters Friday's game against Cleary ranked sixth in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goals made per game (2.42) as well as ninth in three-point field goal accuracy (.439) and 13th in free-throw percentage (.800). 
 
David On The Block – Junior forward David Dixon has been a factor in the paint for the Dukes in recent weeks, as he finished with three blocks each in both a 65-47 victory over Towson (Dec. 14) at the Morgan & Morgan Classic in Akron, Ohio, and again in a 70-54 win over UC Irvine (Dec. 21) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Thanks to his first rejection of the game in the first half against the Anteaters, Dixon became the eighth player in program history with at least 100 career blocks. Dixon enters Duquesne's non-conference finale Friday against Cleary with 102 blocks in 76 career contests, an average of 1.34 per game. He is just three blocks behind former center Darius Lewis (2013-17), who concluded his career with 105 rejections and is the last member of the Dukes to record at least 100 career blocks. Dixon, who is also 19 dunks shy of becoming the second member of the Dukes on record with 100 to his career credit, is tied for seventh in the Atlantic 10 this season with an average of 1.5 blocks per game.
 
Point Break – The accuracy from senior guard Tre Dinkins III in recent weeks has allowed junior guard Kareem Rozier to rack up 23 assists over the last five games, including a season-high six in a 65-47 victory over Towson (Dec. 14) at the Morgan & Morgan Classic in Akron, Ohio, at Lebron James Arena. Rozier owns six assists on three-pointers from Dinkins III over that stretch but, more importantly, has amassed an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.67 over the last five contests courtesy of 23 dimes against just three turnovers. The surge has Rozier ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.08 while also sitting 14th in the circuit in assists per game (3.33). During his career on the Bluff, Rozier, who is Duquesne's active leader for consecutive games played (70), is five assists shy of 200 for his career while owning a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.60.
 
Dime A Dozen – Duquesne registered a season-high 18 assists in its 70-54 victory over UC Irvine (Dec. 21) to open a three-game homestand at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse as nine different Dukes finished with at least one assist. Sharing the basketball is an important aspect to any good team, and the same holds true for Duquesne. In each of their four wins, the Dukes are averaging 13.8 assists per game and own an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.12. In addition to the exploits of junior guard Kareem Rozier, senior guard Tre Dinkins III owns 12 assists (3.0 per game) in Duquesne wins while also registering an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.00, while senior forward Jahsean Corbett owns seven assists against just two miscues during that stretch.
 
Ten – One trend fully formed through 12 games is the depth the Dukes possess. Thanks to 10 points sophomore forward Jakub Necas contributed in a 65-47 win over Towson (Dec. 14) at the Morgan & Morgan Classic in Akron, Ohio, he became the 10th different player to record a double-figure scoring game for Duquesne this season. The leading scorer for the Dukes against the Tigers was redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford, who scored all of his season-high 13 points in the first half in his first career start on the Bluff. He shot 5-for-7 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and after the break attempted just one shot. Crawford, amazingly, became the seventh different player to lead Duquesne in scoring in 11 games this season. The same holds true in rebounding for Duquesne, as well. Senior wing Jahsean Corbett and junior forward David Dixon each posted a game-high six caroms in the win over the Tigers, and through 12 games six different Dukes have led the team in rebounding on at least two occasions, including four times by Corbett.
 
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