Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team improved to 2-0 for the second time in three years Friday by opening the Villanova Challenge with a 92-80 victory over Sacred Heart at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
The Dukes grabbed their first double-digit advantage, 16-6, less than six minutes into the contest after a jumper on the break from junior guard Jimmie Williams, but the Pioneers chipped away, closing to within 31-30 after Dashon Gittens hit the back end of a pair of free throws with 5:17 to go before the break. SHU (1-1) would jump in front on its next possession, 32-31, with Nyle Ralph-Beyer rebounding his own miss and converting a layup, setting up the final four-and-a-half minutes of a stanza that featured four ties and six lead changes. Ralph-Beyer would give Sacred Heart a 40-38 cushion with a pair at the charity stripe, but a layup from redshirt sophomore Stef van Bussel tied it, 40-40, and ignited a 7-2 burst to give Duquesne a 45-42 edge at halftime.
 
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE
Duquesne never trailed in the second half and used an early 10-2 run to push its lead back to double digits, 60-50, forcing the Pioneers to call timeout with 14:59 to play. Redshirt senior guard Cam Crawford buried a three-pointer, graduate student John Hugley IV hit a hook shot on a feed from senior guard Tarence Guinyard and, after a Guinyard steal at midcourt, Crawford converted a layup on the break on a dime from Williams. The Pioneers were able to get within two possessions just twice the rest of the contest.
 
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"We had some good balance," head coach Dru Joyce III said. "When you're getting good shots and the ball movement is good, you can't complain about that. We were able to dominate the paint, finding John (Hugley IV) early in the game and establishing him in there. He really set a tone. His presence is magnetic. He's got great scoring ability, but when you look at it, he had four assists on the night, too. Being able to play inside and out and play at different speeds and tempo is huge. I really think there was a moment in the second half where we dug down defensively. That gave us cushion, and we were able to extend the lead."
 
INSIDE OUT
Guinyard and Hugley IV combined for 50 points in the win over the Pioneers, with each scoring 25 to lead four players in double figures for the Dukes. The duo combined for a 20-for-22 (90.9%) performance at the free-throw line, with Hugley IV finishing a perfect 7-for-7 and Guinyard closing at 13-for-15. Hugley IV added eight rebounds as well as four assists, while Guinyard set a career-high in dimes with seven while also registering four rebounds and three steals. For Hugley IV, it marked his first game reaching the 20-point plateau since Feb. 2, 2022, with a 20-point performance against Miami during his sophomore year at Pitt during the 2021-22 campaign.

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"We went into halftime with the mindset that we can't let anyone come into our territory and play harder than us," Hugley IV said. "In the second half we just came out and played much harder. We fought harder and rebounded harder. We played together. Our guards create so much space, not only for myself, but for them to get easy buckets around the rim."    
 
MAX HITS THE MARK
Sacred Heart came out of its timeout early in the second half and scored the next two buckets to trim its deficit to 60-54, but a layup on the break from graduate student Alex Williams and a three-pointer from redshirt senior Maximus Edwards stretched the lead back to double digits for the Dukes, 65-54. For Edwards, the triple helped him reach the 1,000-point plateau. In just over 20 minutes of action against the Pioneers, Edwards contributed 10 points, five rebounds and three assists and the 10 points gives him exactly 1,000 in 97 games at the NCAA Division I level, an average of 10.3 per contest.
 
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"We respect our opponent, regardless of the conference and regardless of the name on their chest," Crawford said. "We know it's basketball. Any given day anyone can have a night. Our main goal is to protect our home court and not let anyone come in here and play harder than us. When someone comes in here and tries to be more physical, it really doesn't bother us. We go against each other every single day in practice. Hard. Tonight shows we can win in a multitude and a variety of ways."
 
NOTES
A total of 54 fouls were called in the contest, with the two teams combining for 85 visits to the chalk … Sacred Heart, which was led by Ralph-Beyer's 17 points, finished 31-for-46 (67.4%) at the stripe … Gittens finished with 16 points for the Pioneers on the strength of a 10-for-14 performance at the free-throw line … Duquesne owned a 45-43 edge in rebounding, including 17-15 on the offensive glass … Jimmie Williams missed a double-double by a carom, finishing with 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds before fouling out with 44.7 seconds remaining … A total of 75 percent (69-of-92) of the points for Duquesne in the victory came from student-athletes that didn't score a point for the Dukes last season … The biggest lead for Duquesne came with 3:43 to go after a driving layup from Guinyard opened up a 90-73 edge … The last time the Dukes reached the 90-point plateau against an NCAA Division I opponent came in the second game of the 2023-24 campaign, a 90-72 triumph over College of Charleston (11/10/23) in Annapolis, Md., as part of the Veterans Classic … Duquesne held a 38-28 edge in points in the paint.    
 
UP NEXT
The Dukes continue play in the Villanova Challenge by completing a three-game homestand to open its 2025-26 season Tuesday, Nov. 11, with an 8:00 p.m. tip against Queens at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
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