GAME 4
Villanova Challenge
Duquesne (3-0) at Villanova (2-1)
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 | 8:00 p.m.
Philadelphia, Pa. | Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
 
TV: TruTV with Brendan Glasheen (pxp), Jim Spanarkel (color) & Jared Greenberg (sideline)
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Noah Buono ('22)
 
Game Notes | Live Stats | Listen | Media Center | 2025-26 Roster | 2025-26 Schedule
 
Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team wraps up the Villanova Challenge Saturday with its first road game of the 2025-26 season, traveling to Philadelphia, Pa., for an 8:00 p.m. tip against the multi-team event (MTE) host Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion.
 
- The Dukes are off to their first 3-0 start since the 2019-20 season after an 87-81 overtime victory over Queens (Nov. 11) in their second game of the Villanova Challenge. Duquesne opened the MTE with a 92-80 win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7).
 
- Against the Royals, graduate student forward John Hugley IV led five players in double figures with his first double-double on the Bluff thanks to 27 points and 11 rebounds. He finished 9-for-12 from the floor and 9-for-11 at the free-throw line in the win and also added three assists, a steal and a block.
 
- Off the bench in the win over Queens, redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards contributed 16 points, three rebounds and two assists, while freshman guard Dom Aekins recorded his first NCAA Division I double-figure scoring effort with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. That trio was joined by junior forward Jakub Nečas, who posted 12 points and eight rebounds, and senior guard Tarence Guinyard, who scored 10 points while adding seven assists and three steals.
 
- 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.
 
- In today's day and age of college basketball with the NCAA Transfer Portal, Duquesne offers senior forward David Dixon, who will play his final season with the Dukes in 2025-26 and has spent his entire career on the Bluff. Dixon, 6'9" and 230 pounds, owns career totals of 582 points and 437 rebounds and last season became just the second player in program history to eclipse career totals of both 100 blocks and 100 dunks.
 
- Dixon is one of just four players in the Atlantic 10 this season that have spent their entire career with one program, joining 6'10" forward Sean Logan of Davidson, 6'10" forward Christian Fermin of VCU and 6'11" center Mike Walz of Richmond. Ironically, each of the four student-athletes to have played their entire career at one institution are post players.
 
- 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 294 points in his time at Duquesne. He owns a career scoring average of 10.4 points in 98 games at the NCAA Division I level thanks to 1,016 points.
 
- Duquesne returns home to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse after taking on Villanova Saturday, with four of its next five games at home. The Dukes host Loyola (Md.) Wednesday, Nov. 19, in a 7:00 p.m. tip. before heading to Akron, Ohio, Saturday, Nov. 22, for a neutral site game against Northeastern.
 
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 16-19 (.444) 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 Wildcats – Member of the BIG EAST ... Located in Philadelphia, Pa. ... Saturday's game marks the 51st between Duquesne and Villanova but the first in the all-time series in over 30 years ... The Dukes and Wildcats have split the previous meetings, with the all-time series tied, 25-25 ... The last meeting between the two programs came in the second round of the 1994 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), with Villanova earning an 82-66 win over Duquesne at the AJ Palumbo Center March 21, 1994 ... In that contest forward Derrick Alston (1990-94), who averaged 21.3 points during the 1993-94 campaign, paced the Dukes against the Wildcats with 19 points, while freshman guard Tom Pipkins (1993-97) added 18 ... It marked the final game in a Duquesne uniform for Alston, who was the 33rd pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers … The last victory over the Wildcats for the Dukes came Dec. 15, 1979, an Atlantic 10 win in Philadelphia, Pa., 77-72 ... Prior to its run to the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship in Brooklyn, N.Y., the last NCAA Tournament appearance for the Dukes came in 1977, with Duquesne earning a 57-54 win in the 1977 Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (ECBL) final over Villanova ... The ECBL later changed its name to the Atlantic 10, and the Dukes win over the Wildcats in 1977 was the first league championship in conference history ... Villanova is led by Kevin Willard (Pittsburgh '97), who was named head coach of the Wildcats March 29, 2025, and is in his first season at the helm ... Willard owns a career record of 335-250 (.573) in stops at Iona (2007-10), Seton Hall (2010-22) and Maryland (2022-25) ... Redshirt sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay leads the Wildcats in scoring at 24.7 points per game, while senior forward Duke Brennan, a transfer from Grand Canyon, owns averages of 11.7 points and 15.3 rebounds per game.
 
Queens Leftovers – The second game of the Villanova Challenge between Queens and Duquesne was the first meeting between the two programs ... The Dukes dominated points in the paint, 56-32, the highest total for Duquesne against an NCAA Division I opponent in over 15 years ... In overtime the Dukes shot 4-for-4 from the field, including their only attempt from deep (Cam Crawford) and 5-for-8 at the free-throw line ... Queens owned a 46-42 edge in rebounding, including a 14-9 advantage in offensive caroms ... Duquesne owned the lead for 41:50 compared to 1:33 for the Royals ... The Dukes improved to 2-1 (.667) in overtime under second-year head coach Dru Joyce III ... The contest featured two ties and six lead changes.
 
Early Offense – Duquesne has scored at least 80 points in each of its first three games of the 2025-26 season, turning the trick for the first time since 2014-15. Over the first three games that year the Dukes scored 274 points (91.3 ppg) in opening with a 2-1 record, which included a 102-81 victory over Abilene Christian (Nov. 22, 2014) at the AJ Palumbo Center. Meanwhile, the last 3-0 start for the Dukes scoring 80 or more points came during the 2008-09 campaign. 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). Duquesne enters Saturday's game at Villanova averaging 87.3 points per game, which ranks third in the Atlantic 10. 
 
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 70.2 percent (184-of-262) of Duquesne's offense through the first three games of the season. A total of 11 double-figure scoring games have been tallied in victories over Niagara (Nov. 3), Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) and Queens (Nov. 11), with eight received by a newcomer. Included in that is freshman guard Dom Aekins, who scored 12 points in the win over the Royals for his first NCAA Division I double-figure scoring contest.
 
The Last Ride – Playing his final season of college basketball, John Hugley IV is looking to make the last run a memorable one. In an 87-81 overtime win over Queens (Nov. 11) as part of the Villanova Challenge, Hugley IV posted his first double-double in almost two years, leading the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds. It was his 11th career double-double but first since recording 15 points and 10 boards in a 107-86 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Nov. 30, 2023, while playing at Oklahoma, a span of 53 games. The performance against the Royals came on the heels of a 25-point effort in a 92-80 triumph over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7), the first game for Hugley scoring at least 20 points in over three years. The previous performance prior to his game against the Pioneers came as a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh, when Hugley IV scored 20 points against Miami (Feb. 22, 2022), a span of 70 games. Hugley IV owns 10 career games with at least 20 points.
 
Czech Mate – Arguably the most valuable player on the court in Duquesne's 87-81 overtime victory over Queens (Nov. 11) as part of the Villanova Challenge was junior forward Jakub Nečas, who scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just over 20 minutes of action. In addition to his counting numbers, Nečas finished with the highest plus/minus of any player in the game. In the 20:38 that Nečas was on the court, the Dukes outscored the Royals by 23 points. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Duquesne is 7-1 (.875) when Nečas scores in double figures.
 
The Line Dance – Tarence Guinyard, named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week (Nov. 9), 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. The senior guard tied 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. Through three games this season, Guinyard has visited the free-throw line an average of 8.33 times per contest.
 
100/100/100 – Senior forward David Dixon, one of just two players in program history with career totals of at least 100 blocks (132) and 100 dunks (106), will add another 100 to the ledger Saturday at Villanova. When he checks into the game for the first time it will mark his 100th career game on the Bluff. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Dixon is the active leader in the Atlantic 10 for games played and will become the 30th active player in NCAA Division I with 100 career games played at the same school. Alex Karabun of Connecticut out of the BIG EAST is the active NCAA leader with 114 games played.
 
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.
 
Three's Company – 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 three contests of the year, Williams has supplied 10.0 points and 3.7 rebounds and ranks second for the Dukes in steals with six. The trio of John Hugley IV, Tarence Guinyard and Williams, each transfers brought in for the 2025-26 season, have combined to average 47.7 points, 15.6 rebounds and 12.3 assists in the opening three games of the year.
 
The Other Line Dance – A key to Duquesne opening the 2025-26 season 3-0? Defending the three-point line. In the first three games of the year, the Dukes have held opponents to a success rate of just 27.4 percent (23-for-84) from beyond the arc. Queens connected for nine three-pointers against Duquesne but hit just 28.1 percent of its shots from deep, launching 32 attempts. It's the highest total of three-pointer attempts by an opponent in two seasons under head coach Dru Joyce III as well as the most since Saint Joseph's launched 37 (also hitting nine) in a 66-56 Duquesne win Feb. 17, 2024, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
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