GAME 15
Duquesne (6-8 | 1-0 Atlantic 10) at Davidson (10-4 | 0-1 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Davidson, N.C. | John M. Belk Arena (5,200)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Paul Roper & Justin Parker
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Noah Buono ('22)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team opens 2025 with its first Atlantic 10 road game of the season Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Davidson at John M. Belk Arena.
 
- The Dukes opened their A-10 slate with a 67-55 victory over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse to stretch their winning streak to four. The Dukes used a 12-0 run in the first half to turn an 11-8 deficit into a 20-11 lead that forced the Rams to call timeout en route to the victory.
 
- Senior forward Jahsean Corbett paced Duquesne against URI with his second double-double of the season thanks to 13 points and 10 rebounds and was one of four players to finish in double figures.
 
- Senior guard Tre Dinkins III and junior forward David Dixon each scored 11 points, with Dixon adding six rebounds and three blocks, while redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford finished with 10 points.
 
- During its four-game winning streak, Duquesne has held opponents to an average of 50.3 points per game on 32.3 percent (64-for-198) from the field, including 31.7 percent (20-of-63) from beyond the arc.
 
- Redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford has started each of the last four games for the Dukes and leads the team in scoring during that span with an average of 12.0 points per contest while knocking down 56.3 percent (18-for-32) of his attempts from the field, including 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from beyond the arc.
 
- 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 eight 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 1,437 points and 806 rebounds. Corbett amassed totals of 1,303 points and 725 rebounds in three seasons at Chicago State prior to transferring to Duquesne.
 
- Duquesne returns home to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse after taking on the Wildcats Saturday, hosting Saint Joseph's Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 7:00 p.m.
 
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 Wildcats – Saturday is the 14th meeting between Duquesne and Davidson … The Wildcats won the first seven games of an all-time series they lead, 12-1 (.923), prior to DU's breakthrough 71-64 home win in 2020 at the UPMC Events Center on the campus of Robert Morris … In the only meeting between the two programs last season, the Wildcats posted a 72-59 victory over the Dukes at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse … Duquesne used an 11-0 run to close its deficit to 46-42 with 11:06 to go, but Davidson was able to keep the Dukes at bay with timely shooting … A three-pointer from Bobby Durkin gave the Wildcats a 56-43 edge, while a triple from Grant Huffman with 4:32 to go pushed the advantage to 60-51 … Davidson is in its third season under head coach Matt McKillop. Since joining the A-10 in 2014-15, Davidson has won two regular season titles (2015, 2022), a tournament title (2018) and made three NCAA Tournaments (2015, 2018, 2022).
 
Rhode Island Leftovers – Duquesne has won three consecutive games in the all-time series against URI, including five straight at home ... The Rams lead the all-time series, 36-31 (.547) ... The Dukes held a 41-30 advantage in rebounding, including a 13-4 edge on the offense glass ... Senior forward Jahsean Corbett posted as many offensive caroms (4) as URI did as a team ... Duquesne owned a 32-26 cushion in points in the paint and also outscored Rhode Island in second chance points (16-5) and bench points (23-15) ... The contest featured two ties and two lead changes ... The Dukes finished with 15 assists on their 24 field goals, with junior guard Kareem Rozier and sophomore forward Jakub Necas tying for game-high honors with five dimes each ... For Necas his five assists marked a career high ... Sebastian Thomas led all scorers in the contest with 20 points for the Rams despite a 5-for-15 shooting night from the field (8-for-11 at free-throw line).
 
Defense Wins Championships – The Dukes continue to defend. In earning a 67-55 win over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) to open Atlantic 10 play, Duquesne has now held nine consecutive opponents under 70 points, 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) and finished fourth in the 1962 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Duquesne enters Saturday's game at Davidson ranked fourth in the conference in scoring defense (63.9), a mark that also ranks 32nd in NCAA Division I and would be the best scoring defense in program history in the shot clock era (since 1985-86). Over the last nine games, the Dukes are yielding an average of 56.4 points per game.
 
Point Break – Junior guard Kareem Rozier, who eclipsed 200 career assists in a 95-47 win over Cleary (Dec. 27) and has owns 206 dimes to his credit, has been masterful protecting the rock during Duquesne's four-game winning streak. During that stretch, Rozier owns 20 assists against two turnovers. It's part of a larger trend, as Rozier owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.80 during the last seven games for the Dukes thanks to 34 assists and just five miscues. The surge has Rozier atop the Atlantic 10 leaderboard in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.40), a mark that ranks 16th in NCAA Division I. During his career on the Bluff, Rozier, who is Duquesne's active leader for consecutive games played (72), has compiled a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.68.
 
Did You Know? The Dukes have won 33 consecutive games dating back to the 2018-19 campaign when holding opponents to under 60 points thanks to a 67-55 victory over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) that opened Atlantic 10 action. Included in that stretch is a perfect 21-0 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.
 
Windex – A key to a good defense is the ability to crash the boards. Duquesne did just that in a 67-55 triumph over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) in its Atlantic 10 opener, owning a 41-30 edge on the glass. It helped the Dukes improve to 3-0 this season when grabbing at least 40 rebounds, as Duquesne also finished with 41 caroms in a 67-54 victory over Old Dominion (Nov. 26) in its final game of the Cayman Islands Classic as well as a season-high 46 boards in an 80-66 victory over Delaware (Dec. 6). The Dukes have aslo won 11 consecutive games dating back to the beginning of the 2023-24 season when finishing with at least 40 rebounds and during their four-game winning streak are averaging 36.3 rebounds per contest, including 11.0 per game on the offensive glass. Duquesne enters Saturday's game at Davidson ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in offensive rebounds per game (12.1) and sixth in rebounding defense (33.2 per game). 
 
Doubled Up – In the final game of each of the last two three-game homestands at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, senior forward Jahsean Corbett registered a double-double for the Dukes. In a 67-55 win over Rhode Island (Dec. 31), Corbett finished with a team-high 13 points while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds, pushing his career total in double-doubles at the NCAA Division I level to 21. He finished with 19 over the last three years at Chicago State before transferring to Duquesne. Corbett is the only member of the Dukes to start all 14 games for Duquesne this season and enters Saturday's game at Davidson leading Duquesne in rebounding at 5.8 per game, which ranks 20th in the Atlantic 10.
 
Sharpshooter – Junior forward Matúš Hronský is making the most of his opportunities when he's on the court, especially from beyond the arc. In just over 18 minutes of a 67-55 win over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) in the Atlantic 10 opener, Hronský contributed seven points and four rebounds, hitting one of his two attempts from long range. Hronský ranks 11th in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal accuracy at 42.5 percent (17-for-40) this season and has hit at least one triple in 11 of Duquesne's 14 games. During a four-game winning streak for the Dukes, Hronský is 5-for-9 (55.6%) from downtown and through 14 games this season has more three-pointers (17) than he connected for in the previous two seasons (14) combined.
 
Sharpshooter Part Deux – While junior forward Matúš Hronský has been a boost for Duquesne from long range, a key deep threat in his first season for the Dukes is senior guard Tre Dinkins III. Thanks to a pair of three-pointers in a 67-55 victory over Rhode Island (Dec. 31), Dinkins III pushed his career NCAA Division I total over the last three seasons to 150. Dinkins III, who hit 118 triples in two seasons at Canisius prior to transferring to Duquesne, is coming off a month of December in which he averaged 11.0 points per game while connecting on 46.3 percent (19-for-41) of his attempts from beyond the arc. He enters Saturday's game at Davidson ranked ninth in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goals made per game (2.29) and 14th in three-point field goal accuracy (41.6%).
 
Oh, That's Dave – Junior forward David Dixon has been a factor in the paint for the Dukes in recent weeks, as he has finished with three blocks in three of Duquesne's wins during it's four-game surge. Thanks to his first rejection of the game in the first half of a 70-54 victory over UC Irvine (Dec. 21), Dixon became the eighth player in program history with at least 100 career blocks. He added three more rejections in a 67-55 win over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) to move into a tie for seventh place all-time at Duquesne in career rejections with Darius Lewis (2013-17) at 105. Dixon, who is also 15 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 1.50 blocks per game and owns a career per game average for rejections of 1.35.
 
December Drive – During the month of December, a stretch that saw the Dukes go 5-2 (.714) after an 0-6 start to the year, a total of eight players for Duquesne averaged between 5.3 and 11.4 points per game. Senior forward Jahsean Corbett topped the list, averaging 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds during that span while converting 42.9 percent (33-for-77) of his attempts from the field. A key area for Duquesne during December was its ability on both ends of the floor at the three-point line. As a team during the month, the Dukes shot 39.4 percent (65-for-165) from deep while holding opponents to a success rate of just 32.8 percent (38-for-116). Duquesne averaged 9.3 three-pointers in seven games during the month, hitting at least 10 in a game on three occasions (2-1 in those contests), while six different Dukes connected for at least six three-pointers in the seven contests.   
 
At The Heart Of It – The top two returning scorers for points at Duquesne entering the 2024-25 season were juniors David Dixon and Kareem Rozier, who enter Saturday's game at Davidson with career totals of 455 and 428 points, respectively. Rozier owns 10 career double-figure scoring efforts on the Bluff, a stretch in which the Dukes have posted a record of 7-3 (.700). He matched a season high in scoring in an 80-66 victory over Delaware (Dec. 6) with 14 points on the strength of a 7-for-9 performance at the free-throw line while also adding five assists without a turnover. Meanwhile, in the 19 games that Dixon has scored at least 10 points in a game Duquesne has amassed a mark of 12-7 (.632). Dixon owns a pair of double-figure scoring games this year, with a season-high 11 points against Princeton (Nov. 8) in Trenton, N.J., that he matched in a 67-55 win over Rhode Island (Dec. 31) in Duquesne's Atlantic 10 opener.
 
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