Davidson, N.C. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team opened its Atlantic 10 schedule Tuesday, earning an 89-83 victory over Davidson in double overtime at John M. Belk Arena. The Dukes, who won their first road game in the series with the Wildcats and stretched their winning streak to three, improved to 9-5 (.643) overall during the 2025-26 campaign.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Sam Brown buried a three-pointer at the 4:13 mark of the second overtime to give Davidson an 80-75 lead, but junior guard Jimmie Williams answered on the next possession for Duquesne, connecting from deep. The triple ignited a 10-0 run that pushed the Dukes on top, 85-80, with 1:28 left. Williams tied it with a pair at the free-throw line, and senior guard Tarence Guinyard connected from beyond the arc to push Duquesne in front for good. Roberts Blums tried to answer from deep on the next possession for the Wildcats but was off the mark, and after an errant three from Guinyard, junior forward Jakub Nečas grabbed the offensive rebound on the weak side and made the putback stick. The score remained 85-80 in favor of the Dukes until 21.4 seconds were left in the second overtime, when Parker Friedrichsen hit from deep to make it a one-possession contest. Duquesne sealed the win at the free-throw line, with Williams going 4-for-4 in the final 12 seconds.

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"We cut our teeth on the defensive end," head coach Dru Joyce III said. "Our group stuck together. We continued to fight, and each time when we needed a critical stop or stops, we came through. Tarence Guinyard and Jimmie Williams, they made big shots, but maybe the biggest shot was Alex Williams tying the game. Those guys stepped up in a huge way tonight. They were confident and made plays. You go through the summer, and you're building for these types of moments, being tough at the end of the game. Continuing to compete and playing hard. Tonight we had a chance to see it come to fruition. It's awesome to experience it."
 
CONFERENCE BASKETBALL
Davidson (8-5 | 0-1 Atlantic 10) owned a 33-30 edge at halftime as over half of the field goals (13-of-24) from both teams in the opening 20 minutes were from beyond the arc. The Wildcats opened up a 20-11 advantage with 11 minutes left before the break thanks to a three-pointer from Blums, but a 10-4 run saw the Dukes close to within 24-21. Redshirt senior forward Alex Williams connected twice from beyond the arc, while Guinyard provided a driving layup. Duquesne would also score the final four points of the half to make it a one-possession game at the break, with Guinyard and redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards each scoring at the rim. Edwards paced the Dukes in the first half with 10 points and finished with 13 in the victory.
 
WILLIAMS, WILLIAMS & GUINYARD
The contest featured nine ties and five lead changes, with the Dukes forcing free basketball courtesy of Alex Williams. His driving layup tied the game with just under four minutes to go, 62-62, and with time winding down and Davidson on top, 69-66, his three-pointer with 13.7 seconds left in regulation knotted the score, 69-69. The Duquesne defense stood tall on the final possession of regulation, as a jumper from Brown was strong. Alex Williams finished with 13 points in the victory, closing 4-for-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Guinyard, meanwhile, hit a pair of three-pointers to open the scoring in overtime to give the Dukes a 75-69 lead, but the Wildcats held Duquesne scoreless over the final 3:23 of the first extra period. Davidson came back to tie it, 75-75, on a pair of free throws by Devin Brown, but again the defense stood tall for the Dukes, with a three-pointer from Blums as time expired in the first overtime fell short.

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"Our attention to detail defensively was better tonight," Joyce III said. "We've lost some close games where we just didn't get stops. Tonight we generated stops toward the end of the game and we finished plays with rebounds. We also executed. We are able to take plays and sets that we practice and were able to execute. I think that was a huge difference. Both teams were a little bit fatigued and tired at the end, yet we competed, and our will was strong. We guarded the basketball and forced tough shots."
 
NOTES
Duquesne improved to 26-24 (.520) all-time in conference openers, including 26-23 (.531) in Atlantic 10 openers ... Guinyard scored a game-high 24 points and also added four rebounds and six assists … Jimmie Williams matched a career high in rebounds (9) and scored in double figures for the ninth consecutive game with 16, nine of which came in the pair of overtimes … The Atlantic 10 opener for the Dukes marked the first game to go multiple overtimes for the program since March 2, 2022, a 98-93 loss at George Washington in triple overtime ... The last win for the Dukes that featured multiple overtimes was a 95-89 double overtime victory over George Mason Jan. 20, 2018, at the A.J. Palumbo Center ... Duquesne is 2-0 in games that go an extra period this season and 3-1 (.750) when going to overtime in two years under Joyce III ... The Dukes tied a season high with 16 three-pointers, which was originally established in a 103-59 win over Canisus (Dec. 22) ... During its three-game winning streak, Duquesne is 42-for-97 (43%) from international waters ... Senior forward David Dixon helped Duquesne outrebound Davidson, 53-39, with a career-high 13 caroms and he also added six points and a season-high three blocks … Former Davidson guard Stephen Curry (2006-09) was honored at halftime as a sign located just past Exit 30 on Route I-77 was renamed the "Stephen Curry Interchange."
 
UP NEXT
Duquesne opens the home portion of its 2026 Atlantic 10 schedule Saturday, Jan. 3, with a Noon tip against VCU at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in a game that can be seen live on the USA Network and features $1 beers for fans 21 and older.

Photo Credits: Tim Cowie (Davidson Athletics)
 
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