Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team stretched its winning streak to three Friday in continuing a three-game homestand at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse with a 93-45 win over Cleary. The Dukes improved to 5-8 (.385) overall during the 2024-25 season in wrapping up the non-conference portion of their schedule.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne jumped out to leads of 6-0, 13-3 and 29-7 in the first 11 minutes of the contest and never looked back, converting a season-high 61.3 percent (38-of-62) of its attempts from the floor as five Dukes finished in double figures. Redshirt junior guard
Cam Crawford continued his hot shooting in the first half Friday against the Cougars, scoring 10 points in the opening 20 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-4 from deep, to bolster Duquesne to a 49-22 advantage at halftime. During the three-game winning streak for the Dukes, Crawford has averaged 11.3 points in the first half of games, knocking down 13 of his 19 attempts (68.4%) from the field. He would finish with 12 points against Cleary (2-11) and also added three rebounds and a steal.
QUOTABLE
"My teammates have been believing in me, finding me when I'm open," Crawford said. "Coaches have also been instilling confidence in me, so I think it's just going to keep going up the more and more I play and the further we go into the season. I feel like what's always the key is to play hard on defense and set the tone and be physical. It was important for us to do it this game but it's important for us every game. It's good preparation for what we're about to see coming into conference."
ELEVEN
Duquesne held a commanding cushion inside, outscoring Cleary, 62-6, in points in the paint. Off the bench, sophomore
Eli Wilborn provided a spark, posting his first double-figure scoring game with the Dukes thanks to 14 points. He was perfect from the field, hitting all six of his shots, while finishing 2-for-3 at the free-throw line. Wilborn added six rebounds and three blocks and, more impressively, became the 11th different player for Duquesne this season to reach double figures in scoring in 13 games. Pacing the Dukes in the win was sophomore forward
Jakub Necas, who supplied a career-high 15 points while adding five rebounds. Necas is the eighth different player to lead the Dukes in scoring through 13 games of the 2024-25 season.
QUOTABLE
"The key thing that I want to continue to see is our ball movement," head coach
Dru Joyce III said. "Throughout possessions trying to find the best shot available. It takes unselfishness and some patience. As a player, you want to make a play. Sometimes that comes at taking a risk of making something happen when nothing is there. That happens throughout the course of a game. Our players are understanding that trying to make the simple play and taking what's available is the best solution. That's what I've enjoyed over the last few games is just our patience offensively."
WALL
In holding Cleary to 45 points, it marks the eighth consecutive opponent that Duquesne has held under 70 points. It's the longest streak for the program in over 60 years, as the 1961-62 Dukes held 10 straight foes under 70 points during the year en route to an overall record of 22-7 (.759), a No. 17 ranking in the final poll by the
Associated Press while finishing fourth in the 1962 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Through the end of the non-conference campaign, Duquesne is allowing 64.6 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10.
QUOTABLE
"We have to continue to be disruptive," Joyce III said. "Our agenda is to throw your timing off and see if we can get deflections. We're going to continue with that strategy. To apply pressure, especially on the ball in certain areas. Overall as a team it hasn't just been one defender leading the charge, it's been as a unit. They're growing in chemistry, which I think helps on the defensive end, too. When you've been through a non-conference season, 13 games now, you start to see a lot of resemblance of what teams do. A lot of our defensive presence and ability is to starting to grow."
NOTES
Duquesne improved to 2-0 all-time against Cleary, with the 48-point victory Friday mirroring
a 95-47 win in the first meeting between the two programs last year … During their three game winning streak the Dukes have never trailed … Duquesne notched a season-high 28 assists on 38 field goals, including six each from senior forward
Jahsean Corbett and junior guard
Kareem Rozier … Corbett finished with 10 points, five rebounds and six dimes, while Rozier contributed 10 points, six assists and four steals … The six dimes for Rozier pushed his career total in the category to 201 … Over the last six games Rozier owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.25 thanks to 29 dimes and just four miscues … Sophomore guard
Lucas Prolla played a career-high 10 minutes and scored his first NCAA Division I points, finishing with four thanks to a 2-for-2 performance at the free-throw line followed by his first career field goal … The Dukes shot 90.9 percent (10-for-11) at the free-throw line, with Wilborn missing the first opportunity of the contest before Duquesne converted 10 straight … The Dukes registered 10 dunks in the victory from five different players, including four by Wilborn ... For the second consecutive game a Duquesne opponent failed to have a player reach double figures in scoring.
UP NEXT
The Dukes wrap up the 2024 calendar year by opening Atlantic 10 play Tuesday, Dec. 31, with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Rhode Island, which concludes a three-game homestand at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
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