GAME 3
Villanova Challenge
Queens (1-2) vs. Duquesne (2-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 | 8:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Tim Benz (pxp) & Ellis Cannon (color)
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 concludes a three-game homestand to open its 2025-26 season Tuesday by continuing play in the Villanova Challenge with an 8:00 p.m. tip against Queens at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
- The Dukes improved to 2-0 for the second time in the last three years by opening the MTE with a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7). Tarence Guinyard and John Hugley IV led four Dukes in double figures with 25 points each, while Jimmie Williams added 13 points and nine rebounds and Maximus Edwards scored 10.
 
- Guinyard also contributed a career-high seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win over the Pioneers, while Hugley IV posted eight caroms as Duquesne outrebounded Sacred Heart, 45-43. The duo combined to shoot 20-for-22 at the free-throw line in the win over SHU, with Hugley IV going a perfect 7-for-7.
 
- In averaging 22.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in wins over Niagara (Nov. 3) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 7), Guinyard was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week in the first weekly report of the 2025-26 season.
 
- The 2025-26 season marks the 110th 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). Thanks to an 83-63 victory over Niagara (Nov. 3) in its 2025-26 season opener, Duquesne earned program victory No. 1,500.
 
- Redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards scored 10 points in the win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to reach exactly 1,000 points for his career. Named the 2023 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Edwards scored 722 in two seasons at George Washington before transferring to the Bluff and has scored 278 points in his time at Duquesne.
 
- Duquesne will close out the Villanova Challenge after hosting Queens with its first road game, visiting Finneran Pavilion, Saturday, Nov. 15, for an 8:00 p.m. tip against the Wildcats in a game that can be seen live on TruTV. 
 
At The Helm – Dru Joyce III was named the 18th head coach in the 110-year history of Duquesne basketball March 28, 2024, and in his second year at the helm in 2025-26. He owns an overall record of 15-19 (.441) in his first head coaching job. 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 Royals – Member of ASUN Conference ... Located in Charlotte, N.C. ... The Dukes and Royals meet on the hardwood for the first time Tuesday as part of the Villanova Challenge ... Queens joined the ASUN Conference July 1, 2022, after reclassifying from NCAA Division II ... The Royals are ineligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament (NIT) until the 2026-27 season ... Last season Queens posted an overall record of 20-15 (.571), including an 11-7 (.611) mark in the ASUN ... The Royals fell in the semifinals of the 2025 ASUN Championship, 81-75 in overtime, to No. 1 seed Lipscomb ... Queens accepted an invitation to play in the 2025 College Basketball Invitational (CBI), earning an 85-78 victory over Northern Arizona in the first round in Dayton Beach, Fla., at the Ocean Center before falling to Cleveland State, 88-73, in the quarterfinals ... The Royals are led by Grant Leonard (William Penn '04), who is in his fourth season as head coach ... Leonard owns an overall record of 53-51 (.510) during his tenure as head coach at Queens ... Duquesne is one of nine opponents that the Royals are playing for the first time in school history this season ... Queens opened its 2025-26 with an 81-74 setback to Winthrop (Nov. 3) as part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon ... In that contest former Duquesne guard Kareem Rozier (2022-25) scored eight points and dished out seven assists ... In their 2025-26 home opener, the Royals earned an 87-76 victory over Lynchburg (Nov. 5) ... Queens opened the Villanova Challenge with a 94-74 loss to the host Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion (Nov. 8) ... Guards Chris Ashby, a graduate student, and Yoav Berman, a sophomore, are each averaging 14.3 points through the first three games of the year for the Royals ... Ashby has converted 51.9 percent (14-for-27) of his shots from the floor, including an 11-for-24 (45.8%) showing from beyond the arc ... Senior guard Nasir Mann, a transfer from McNeese State, has supplied averages of 13.7 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds for Queens ... Of the 25 rebounds for Mann, nine have come on the offensive glass ... As a team the Royals are shooting 49.4 percent (80-for-162) from the field.  
 
Sacred Heart Leftovers – Duquesne reached the 90-point plateau in the win over Sacred Heart for the first time against an NCAA Division I opponent since a 90-72 victory over College of Charleston (Nov. 10, 2023) in the second game of the 2023-24 campaign in Annapolis, Md., as part of the Veterans Classic ... The Dukes improved to 2-0 all-time against the Pioneers in the first meeting between the two programs since a 74-63 win as part of the San Juan Shootout (Dec. 20, 2022) in Caguas, Puerto Rico, which marked the program's first game outside of the United States ... Duquesne shot 48.6 percent (17-for-35) in the second half and 43.9 percent (29-for-66) overall ... The Dukes held a 38-28 edge in points in the paint and also owned advantages in second chance points (20-11) and points on the break (25-18) ... The two teams combined for 85 chances at the free-throw line as 54 fouls were called ... Duquesne launched 35 attempts from beyond the arc, its second highest total of the Dru Joyce III era and trailing just the 38 shots from deep taken last season in the first game of the Cayman Islands Classic vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 24, 2024).
 
Instant Impact – The latest recruiting class has paid dividends for Duquesne in the early going of the 2025-26 season, as have a pair of Dukes that have seen their first action on the Bluff after missing last year with injuries. The eight newcomers, which includes four transfers and a quartet of freshmen, as well as guard Brandon Hall and forward Alex Williams, have combined to account for 76 percent (133-of-175) of Duquesne's offense through the first two games of the season. A total of six double-figure scoring games have been tallied in victories over Niagara (Nov. 3) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 7), with only redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards, who scored 10 points against the Pioneers, the only member among that group to have played for the Dukes in 2024-25. 
 
Did You Know? The last time Duquesne opened the season scoring at least 80 points in its first three games of the year came during the 2014-15 season. Over the first three games that year the Dukes scored 274 points (91.3 ppg), which included a 102-81 victory over Abilene Christian (Nov. 22, 2014) at the AJ Palumbo Center. The Dukes have averaged 87.5 points in opening the season 2-0. Meanwhile, the last time Duquesne opened the year with three consecutive games of 80 or more points and won each game came during the 2008-09 season. The Dukes averaged 84 points in wins over High Point, Saint Francis and Furman en route to an overall record of 21-13 (.618) and a spot in the 2009 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).  
 
The Line Dance – Senior guard Tarence Guinyard hit the 20-point plateau for the first time in a Duquesne uniform in a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to open the Villanova Challenge, tying for game-high honors with 25 points, on the strength of his work at the free-throw line. Guinyard finished 13-for-15 (86.7%) at the stripe, the most free throws in a game for the Dukes since former guard Mike Lewis II (2017-19) finished 13-for-14 at St. Bonaventure (Feb. 25, 2017). Guinyard's ability to get to the free-throw line shouldn't come as a surprise. Last season at Tennessee-Martin (UTM), Guinyard averaged 5.96 attempts from the free-throw per game, finishing with a success rate of 74.3 percent (142-for-191). That performance came on the heels of a two-year stint in junior college at Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), where he finished 338-for-486 (69.5%) at the chalk in 63 games, an average of 7.71 trips to the line per contest.
 
Big Medication – While Tarence Guinyard, who also added a career-high seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in a 92-80 win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7), provided Duquesne with his ability in the backcourt, graduate student forward John Hugley IV did the work down low. Hugley IV finished 9-for-17 from the floor and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line in matching game-high honors in scoring with 25 points. For Hugley IV, it marked his first game scoring at least 20 points in a game in over three years. His last performance came as a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh, where he scored 20 points against Miami (Feb. 22, 2022), a span of 70 games. The performance for Hugley IV marked his ninth career game with at least 20 points.
 
Dynamic Duo – Tarence Guinyard and John Hugley IV combined for 50 points in a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to open the Villanova Challenge, as each contributed 25 points in the win. It marks the first time that Duquesne has had a duo score at least 25 points in a game in almost 10 years. In a 96-92 overtime victory over Milwaukee (Nov. 24, 2015) as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., guards Derrick Coulter (27) and Micah Mason (26) powered the Dukes to the victory by combining for 53 points.
 
Max Hits The Mark – Redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards entered the 2025-26 season 14 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau, and he hit the mark in a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to open the Villanova Challenge. His three-pointer at the 7:31 mark of the second half as part of a 10-point performance against the Pioneers gives him exactly 1,000 career points heading into Tuesday's game against Queens. In 97 career games at the NCAA Division I level, Edwards has averaged 10.3 points per contest, including 8.2 points per game since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign when he joined the Dukes after transferring from George Washington.
 
Next In Line – Thanks to redshirt senior guar Maximus Edwards scoring his 1,000th career point in a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to open the Villanova Challenge, the next player in line within reach of the mark is forward John Hugley IV. Entering Tuesday's game against Queens, Hugley IV owns career totals of 903 points and 485 rebounds. He is just 15 boards shy of 500 for his career and needs 97 points to reach 1,000. The active leader for points at Duquesne belongs to senior forward David Dixon, who owns 577 points since the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign.
 
Hey, Over Here! Junior guard Jimmie Williams has proven to be a capable piece to the rotation in the early going, as he missed his first career double-double by just a rebound in a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7). Before fouling out with 44.7 seconds to go, Williams contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, establishing a career high for boards. Through the first two contests of the year, Williams has supplied 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds and is also tied with senior guard Tarence Guinyard for the team lead in steals with four. Combined, the trio of Guinyard, John Hugley IV and Williams, each transfers brought in for the 2025-26 season, have combined to average 52.0 points, 15.0 rebounds and 11.0 assists in the opening two games of the year.
 
The Other Line Dance – A key to Duquesne opening the 2025-26 season 2-0? Defending the three-point line. In victories over Niagara (Nov. 3) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 7), the Dukes allowed the two opponents to convert just 20.5 percent (9-for-44) of its attempts from beyond the arc. That success rate was below 20 percent prior to Anquan Hill of the Pioneers burying a three at the buzzer to settle the final score in a 92-80 Duquesne win. Early on the Dukes sit third in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percent defense.
 
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