GAME 2
Villanova Challenge
Sacred Heart (1-0) vs. Duquesne (1-0)
Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 | 7:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh | ESPN+ with Josh Taylor (pxp) & Ellis Cannon (color)
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Noah Buono ('22)
 
Game Notes | Watch | Live Stats | Listen | Tickets | Media Center | 2025-26 Roster | 2025-26 Schedule
 
Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team continues a three-game homestand to open its 2025-26 season Friday with the first of three games in the Villanova Challenge with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Sacred Heart at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
- The Dukes opened their 110th season of NCAA basketball with an 83-63 victory over Niagara (Nov. 3), picking up program victory No. 1,500 in the process. All-time in school history, Duquesne has amassed a record of 1,500-1,209 (.554).
 
- Senior guard Tarence Guinyard led Duquesne in the win over the Purple Eagles with 19 points and tied a career-high with five assists, while junior guard Jimmie Williams contributed 15 points, four assists and three steals.
 
- Graduate student John Hugley IV, in his first game for the Dukes, finished with seven points, a game-high eight rebounds and a block in the triumph, shooting 3-for-6 from the field, including 1-for-1 from deep.
 
- 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).
 
- The closest member of the Dukes to 1,000 career points is redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards, who is just 10 points shy of the mark (990). 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 268 points since the beginning of the 2024-25 season at Duquesne.

- The Dukes earned an 83-81 victory at Virginia Tech (Oct. 25) in their lone exhibition game prior to the beginning of the 2025-26 season, closing the game on a 17-6 run over the final 5:11 of action to earn the win.

- Guards Tarence Guinyard and Jimmie Williams each scored 21 points in the victory over the Hokies, with Guinyard adding eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Combined, the duo shot 14-for-27 (.519) from the floor, including 6-for-13 (.462) from beyond the arc.
 
- Duquesne concludes its three-game homestand to open the year after hosting the Pioneers by continuing play in the Villanova Challenge Tuesday, Nov. 11, with an 8:00 p.m. tip against Queens.  
 
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 14-19 (.424) 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 Pioneers – Member of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) ... Located in Fairfield, Conn. ... Duquesne won the only meeting between the two programs, a 74-63 victory as part of the San Juan Shootout in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 20, 2002 ... In that victory the Dukes opened the second half on a 15-5 run to open up a 52-41 lead after Duquesne owned a one-point advantage, 37-36, at halftime ... The win over the Pioneers marked the first game out of the United States for the Dukes as a program ... Former guards Bryant McAllister (2002-06) and Kevin Forney (1999-2003) each scored 16 points to lead Duquesne in the win, while center Simplice Njoya (2001-03) registered a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds ... Former guard Jimmy Tricco (2002-04) contributed 10 points and three asissts in the victory ... Sacred Heart is led by Anthony Latina (Brandeis '95), who is in his 13th season as head coach ... The Pioneers were members of the Northeast Conference (NEC) but joined the MAAC prior to the 2024-25 season ... The Pioneers opened their 2025-26 season with a 103-46 victory over the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Nov. 4) ... Former Duquesne head coach Danny Nee served as head coach at Merchant Marine from 2010 to 2014 ... Redshirt senior forward Anquan Hill finished with a double-double in Sacred Heart's 2025-26 season opener thanks to 21 points and 12 rebounds ... Hill, who spent the 2022-23 season at St. Bonaventure, was named to the 2025 All-MAAC Third Team after averaging 12.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season ... Hill began his career at Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU), averaging 7.7 points for the Knights during the 2021-22 campaign ... Six players scored in double figures for SHU in the win over Merchant Marine, including 18 points from Dashon Gittens (8-for-9 FG), a transfer from FIU.
 
Niagara Leftovers – Duquesne improved to 14-7 (.667) all-time against the Purple Eagles in the first meeting between the two programs since 2007 ... The Dukes also improved to 91-19 (.827) all-time in season openers, including 86-5 (.945) when opening the year at home ... The 26-point lead for Duquesne in the second half eclipsed its largest lead at any point during the 2024-25 campaign against an NCAA Division I opponent ... Guards Tarence Guinyard and Jimmie Williams combined to shoot 12-of-18 (.667) from the floor, including 7-for-12 (.583) from beyond the arc ... Off the bench, redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and tied a career-high with five assists without a turnover ... In a combined 15 minutes of action, redshirt sophomore Stef van Bussel (4) and freshman Lazar Milošević (7) combined for 11 points and three rebounds, shooting 3-for-3 from the floor and 5-for-7 at the free-throw line ... Junior guard Lucas Prolla celebrated his 21st birthday against Niagara by playing final 2:28 of action, registering a steal ... The Dukes owned a 32-25 edge in rebounding and finished with 18 assists ... Duquesne's 900th program win also came against Niagara Dec. 5, 1978, with an 82-69 victory in the third game of the 1978-79 season as the Dukes improved to 3-0 in their first season under head coach Mike Rice ... A closer look at select milestone victories in program history ...
 

No.	Score	Opponent	Date
1	43-28	Bethany	Jan. 15, 1914
100	30-28	at West Virginia	Feb. 11, 1925
500	77-69	at #7 DePaul	Feb. 14, 1953
1,000	79-78	at Penn State (2 OT)	Jan. 11, 1986
1,500	83-63	Niagara	Nov. 3, 2025

 
Jersey Swap - A number of returning Dukes are donning new uniform numbers this season, including both of Duquesne's returning starters. Redshirt senior guard Cam Crawford switches to wearing No. 5 after sporting No. 1 last season, while junior forward Jakub Nečas wears No. 9 this season after using the No. 7 for his jersey his first two years with the program. Senior guard Maximus Edwards, meanwhile, switches to No. 22 after sporting No. 8 a year ago. In addition, two international players will wear jersey numbers never before worn in the 110-year history of Duquesne basketball. Redshirt sophomore Stef van Bussel will don No. 18, while freshman forward Lazar Milošević will wear No. 27. Nečas is also the first student-athlete for the Dukes to wear No. 9 since Chuck Horne sported the digit from 1950-51.
 
Defense Wins Championships - Duquesne gave up 80 or more points just four times during the 2024-25 season in the first year under head coach Dru Joyce III and finished the year ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (67.3 ppg). Duquesne, which held nine consecutive opponents under 70 points during the course of last year, the longest streak by the program in over 60 years, owns a record of 13-6 (.684) under Joyce III when holding opponents to under 70 points, including a perfect 6-0 when yielding less than 60 points in a contest.

Four Score and ... 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 575 points and 426 rebounds and last season became just the second player in program history to eclipse career totals of both 100 blocks and 100 dunks. A career 55.4 percent (224-for-404) from the field in 97 games, including 24 starts, Dixon ranks fifth in the Duquesne record book for blocks (129) while sitting second in dunks (105). Dixon is the program's active leader in both points and rebounds and is 74 caroms shy of 500 for his career. Dixon is one of just four players in the Atlantic 10 this season that has 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.
 
100/100 - Forward David Dixon joined an exclusive group in an 85-68 victory over George Mason (March 1) last season as part of the Chuck Cooper Classic at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. His first dunk of the contest, which came at the 11:02 mark of the first half, helped Dixon become just the second player in program history to reach career totals of both 100 dunks and 100 blocks. Former forward Damian Saunders (2008-11) owns career records in both categories with 166 jams and 300 rejections. Dixon contributed 14 points off the bench in the win against the Patriots as Duquesne improved to 16-7 (.696) since the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign when he scores in double figures.
 
Did You Know? The Dukes have won 35 consecutive games dating back to the 2018-19 campaign when holding opponents to under 60 points thanks to a 69-56 victory over Loyola Chicago (Feb. 8) last year at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Included in that stretch is a perfect 23-0 mark in four 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.
 
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