GAME 22
Massachusetts (9-12 | 4-4 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (9-12 | 4-4 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
Stream: SportsNet Pittsburgh & ESPN+ with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
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 the month of Feburary Saturday looking to snap a three-game slide with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Massachusetts at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
- Nine of the 12 losses for the Dukes this season have been by seven points or less, including six by five points or fewer after a 76-72 setback at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 29) that concluded a two-game road swing.
 
- Senior guard Tre Dinkins III paced Duquesne against the Hawks with a season-high 27 points, including 15 in the final 1:19 of action. He shot 11-of-19 from the field, including 5-for-11 from beyond the arc, and also added four rebounds, an assist and a pair of steals.
 
- Also reaching double figures at Saint Joseph's was redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford, who finished with 10 points. Crawford has scored in double figures in eight of his 11 games as a member of the starting lineup and enters Saturday's game leading the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percentage at 47.6 percent (30-for-63).
 
- Against conference foes, Crawford has converted 55.9 percent (19-for-34) of his attempts from deep, which ranks second in the circuit to Reed Bailey of Davidson (.583).
 
- 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 five 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 1,505 points and 842 rebounds. Corbett, who eclipsed 1,500 career points with a layup in the first half at Saint Joseph's, amassed totals of 1,303 points and 725 rebounds in three seasons at Chicago State prior to transferring to Duquesne.
 
- Duquesne, which ranks fourth in the Atlantic in scoring defense (66.6), will begin a stretch of four of its next six on the road after taking on UMass Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. tip at Richmond Wednesday, Feb. 5. The Dukes will also visit Dayton (Feb. 15), St. Bonaventure (Feb. 22) and La Salle (Feb. 26) while hosting Loyola Chicago (Feb. 8) and Fordham (Feb. 19).
 
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 Minutemen – Saturday's tilt marks the 73rd meeting in the all-time series between Duquesne and Massachusetts in a series that dates back to Jan. 11, 1975 … UMass leads the series, 43-29 … The Dukes have won three straight against the Minutemen in Pittsburgh … In the only meeting between the two programs last year, UMass used a 16-0 run to open up a 73-52 lead en route to an 80-61 victory at the Mullins Center (Jan. 3, 2024) in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams … Former guard Dae Dae Grant paced Duquesne with 18 points, while former guard Jimmy Clark III also reached double figures with 16 … Grant gave the Dukes an early 8-2 advantage on consecutive three-pointers, including the second off a steal … In the last meeting in Pittsburgh, Duquesne got 18 points and five steals from Jimmy Clark III and 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals from David Dixon to reach 20 wins for just the third time in 42 years with an 88-79 victory over Massachusetts (March 1, 2023).
 
Saint Joseph's Leftovers – The two games of the 2024-25 season series between the Hawks and Dukes featured a composite score of 157-157, with each game decided by four points ... Saint Joseph's shot 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from the field in the second half and 46.8 percent (22-for-27) overall despite a 3-for-16 (18.8%) showing from beyond the arc ... The Hawks owned a 32-28 advantage in points in the paint ... The Dukes shot 39.4 percent (26-for-66), with their 66 attempts from the floor their second highest total of the 2024-25 season ... Duquesne took a season high 71 shots from the field in an 85-81 overtime win over Saint Joseph's (Jan. 8) ... The two-game road swing to Fordham and Saint Joseph's saw the two opponents for Duquesne finish 49-for-59 (83.1%) at the free-throw line, with the free throws (29) and attempts (35) by the Hawks a season high for an opponent ... Over the last two games the Dukes finished 17-for-27 (62.9%) at the stripe ... Erik Reynolds II was one of four Hawks to finish in double figures with a team-high 20 points ... Xzayvier Brown posted 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists and finished 10-for-11 at the free-throw line for SJU ... Saint Joseph's owned a 38-32 edge in rebounding, with the Dukes posting a 13-11 advantage on the offensive boards.
 
Tre Day – Senior guard Tre Dinkins III reached double figures for the sixth consecutive game, the longest streak by a student-athlete for the Dukes this season, by scoring a season-high 27 points at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 29). Dinkins III exploded for 15 of those points in the final 1:19 of action and scored 22 points after halftime. He also matched a career high with five three-pointers, the first time he's connected for five triples in a Duquesne uniform after hitting four in seven games in 2024-25. Over the last six contests, Dinkins III is averaging 16.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 46.2 percent (36-for-78) from the field and 84.6 percent (11-for-13) at the free-throw line. He enters Saturday's game against Massachusetts ranked eighth in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goals per game (2.33) while also sitting 17th in three-point field goal percentage (.386).
 
The Run – Senior guard Tre Dinkins III had his own personal run late at Saint Joseph's, scoring 15 points in the final 1:19 of action, including each of the final 10 points for the Dukes. Dinkins III is the second player for Duquesne this season to produce a personal run of at least 10 points, joining redshirt junior guard Maximus Edwards. In a 73-65 win at George Washington (Jan. 15), Edwards scored 13 consecutive points for the Dukes in the first half as part of a 16-4 run that turned a 14-10 deficit into a 26-18 lead en route to the victory. Included among the burst for Dinkins III was his first dunk with the Dukes, and he enters Saturday's game a career 36.5 percent (167-for-457) shooter from beyond the arc during his NCAA Division I career.
 
Conference Basketball – Duquesne enters the final full month of the 2024-25 regular season Saturday against an opponent, Massachusetts, that owns identical overall (9-12) and Atlantic 10 (4-4) records as the Dukes. The Dukes and Minutemen are two of five teams in the A-10 that are tied for fourth place in the conference standings with 4-4 (.500) records, joining George Washington, Dayton and Saint Joseph's. To illustrate how close Atlantic 10 games have been, a deeper dive into the January statistics for Duquesne nails home the parity of the conference. In the last seven games, the Dukes have been outscored by their opponent by a total of two points, 503-501. Four of the seven games for Duquesne during the month of January were decided by eight points or less, including three by five points or fewer. A key factor? The free-throw line. Opponents have averaged 23.5 trips to the to the stripe compared to 14.5 opportunities for the Dukes at the chalk during Atlantic 10 action. Foes have shot 70.7 percent (133-for-188) at the free-throw line in conference play compared to 64.7 percent (75-for-116) for Duquesne. The Dukes, however, have shot 36.6 percent (75-for-205) from beyond the arc in Atlantic 10 play, which ranks second in the conference and trails only Dayton (.373). 
 
CC – Few members of the Dukes have played as well as Cam Crawford in recent weeks, as the redshirt junior guard enters Saturday's game against UMass having averaged 10.7 points in seven games during the month of January. During that span, Crawford shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the floor, including 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from beyond the arc, while also going 6-for-8 (75%) at the free-throw line. Crawford is one of three Dukes to rank in the top 20 of the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage against conference foes, as he ranks 19th at 46 percent (29-for-63). Junior forward David Dixon sits second at 64.1 percent (25-for-39), while redshirt junior guard Maximus Edwards ranks ninth at 58.1 percent (25-for-43).
 
Did You Know? The Dukes finished 12-0 last season when first to reach 70 points against an opponent and have won 36 consecutive games when turning the trick after a 75-57 victory over St. Bonaventure (Jan. 18). However, the Dukes earned their first win this season when failing to hit 70 points first thanks to an 85-81 overtime win over Saint Joseph's (Jan. 8). Rasheer Fleming converted a three-point play with 2:13 left in regulation to give the Hawks a 70-69 edge, one of four lead changes in the final four minutes prior to overtime.
 
Yo-Yo – As for lead changes, the up-and-down nature of college basketball has never been more apparent this year than with Duquesne. Working five new players into the rotation and the Dukes looking to find their groove, the 21 games of the 2024-25 season have featured an amazing 81 ties (3.86 per game) and 113 lead changes (5.38 per contest). The season high for ties and lead changes for Duquesne both came in a 65-63 setback at Fordham (Jan. 26) that opened a two-game road trip. Neither team had a lead larger than six in a contest that featured 12 ties and 15 lead changes. The two-game road trip the Dukes just completed that also featured a four-point loss at Saint Joseph's saw 22 ties and 22 lead changes.
 
Make A Donation – As part of its 2:00 p.m. tip against Massachusetts Saturday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the Duquesne Department of Athletics will be collecting items to support the Veterans Leadership Program, which empowers veterans to navigate the transitions of life. Among the items in need are paper, hygiene and cleaning products, nonperishable food and household items. Items collected are part of a pantry restock in  honor of 412 Heroes Day, presented by Giant Eagle.
 
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