GAME 29
George Mason (22-6 | 13-2 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (12-16 | 7-8 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
Stream: ESPN+ | SportsNet Pittsburgh with Tim Benz & Ellis Cannon
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jim Duzyk
 
Game Notes | Media Center | Record Book | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team opens the month of March with a two-game homestand at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, beginning Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip against George Mason for the Chuck Cooper Classic.
 
- The Dukes closed out a two-game road swing as well as the month of February by earning a 67-62 victory at La Salle (Feb. 26).
 
- Redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford led four players in double figures in the win over the Explorers with a season-high 15 points, including 11 in the first 5:15 of action as Duquesne grabbed early leads of 12-0 and 15-3. Crawford finished 4-for-6 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line and also pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
 
- Senior guard Tre Dinkins III added his first career NCAA Division I double-double in the triumph at La Salle with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists, while forward Jakub Necas and Eli Wilborn each scored 10 points.
 
- The Dukes shot 52.2 percent (24-for-46) from the floor in the victory at La Salle, a season high against an Atlantic 10 opponent and the second best shooting percentage of the year.
 
- Duquesne enters Saturday's game against the Patriots ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense, allowing an average of 66.5 points per game. George Mason ranks second in the same category, yielding an average of 62.43 points per contest. VCU tops the A-10 in category, having allowed one fewer point (1,747-to-1,748) than the Patriots, an average of 62.39 points per game.  
 
- Half of the games for Duquesne this season (14-of-28) have been decided by seven points or less, including eight of the 15 games (53.3%) in the Atlantic 10.
 
- The 2024-25 season marks the 109th 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). Duquesne, which has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1971 & 1972, is two wins shy of 1,500 as an NCAA program.
 
- The leading active scorer for the Dukes is senior forward Jahsean Corbett, who owns career totals of 1,550 points and 874 rebounds. Corbett, who eclipsed 1,500 career points with a layup in the first half at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 29), amassed totals of 1,303 points and 725 rebounds in three seasons at Chicago State prior to transferring to Duquesne.
 
- Duquesne concludes the home portion of its 2024-25 schedule after hosting George Mason with a 7:00 p.m. tip against VCU Tuesday, March 4, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The game can be seen live on CBS Sports Network.
 
At The Helm – Dru Joyce III was named the 18th head coach in the 109-year history of Duquesne basketball March 28, 2024. 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 Patriots – Saturday marks the 17th meeting in the all-time series between Duquesne and George Mason, with the Dukes owning a 10-6 (.625) advantage … The series dates back to New Year's Eve 2001, with Duquesne having won five straight over the Patriots as well as five of the eight games between the two programs in Pittsburgh, Pa. … Overall Duquesne has won nine of the last 11 meetings, including a 59-51 victory last season at EagleBank Arena … The Dukes used an 8-0 run to turn a 46-43 deficit into a 51-46 lead, and a turnaround jumper from David Dixon with 41 seconds remaining helped keep the Patriots at bay and opened up a 55-51 advantage … Duquesne sealed the win with four free throws in the final 30 seconds … Former guard Dae Dae Grant scored a team-high 13 points in the victory, while forward Fousseyni Drame contributed 10 points off the bench as the reserves for the Dukes owned a 24-2 advantage.
 
La Salle Leftovers – Duquesne has won three of the last four in the all-time series, including two straight in Philadelphia, Pa. ... Redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford scored 11 points in the first 5:16 of the game, just two seconds shy of the fastest to double figures this season by a member of the Dukes ... Junior forward Matúš Hronský scored 11 points in the first 5:14 for Duquesne at Dayton (Feb. 15) ... Each team finished with rebounds, 31-31, with the Explorers owning an 11-4 cushion on the offensive glass ... The Dukes posted 18 assists on their 24 field goals ... Duquesne held a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint, improving to 8-4 (.667) during the 2024-25 season when scoring at least 30 points down low, including three consecutive wins ... Corey McKeithan and Deuce Jones tied for team-high honors in scoring for La Salle with 14 points each ... Jones finished 9-for-9 at the free-throw line for the Explorers, the best performance at the stripe by a Duquesne opponent this year ... Bolstered by the performance from Jones, the La Salle bench owned a 27-13 edge in bench points.
 
Double Dinkins – Senior guard Tre Dinkins III was everywhere on the court as the Dukes closed out a two-game road trip with a 67-62 victory at La Salle (Feb. 26), registering his first career NCAA Division I double-double. In addition to stretching his streak for double-figure scoring games to 13 by scoring 12 points, Dinkins III handed out a career-high 10 assists. It was an eventful road trip for Dinkins III, who eclipsed 1,000 points for his career with a three-pointer at the 17:38 mark of the first half at St. Bonaventure (Feb. 22) that helped him reach the plateau in his 89th career NCAA Division I game. The streak for Dinkins III of double-figure scoring efforts is the longest in-season by a Duquesne student-athlete since Mike Lewis II scored 10 or more points in 14 consecutive games during the 2016-17 campaign. Dinkins III ranks ninth this year in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goals made per game (2.39) as well as 11th in three-point field goal accuracy (.385). Over the last 13 games, Dinkins III is producing averages of 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent (70-for-155) from the field, including 38 percent (35-for-92) from beyond the arc, and 83.9 percent (26-for-31) at the free-throw line. He also owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.69 during that same stretch.
 
The Big Man – Eli Wilborn has been a key factor on the low block for Duquesne in recent weeks, as for the second time in three games the sophomore supplied double figures in scoring with 10 points in a 67-62 victory at La Salle (Feb 26). He shot 5-for-7 from the floor against the Explorers and also grabbed four rebounds while blocking a pair of shots. Wilborn opened both halves with a dunk for the Dukes, finished with three overall at La Salle and ranks second on the team this year in the category with 16. Over the last three games, Wilborn has supplied averages of 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 57.1 percent (12-for-21) of his shots from the field. Wilborn is one of 10 players this season to score 10 or more points as a member of the starting lineup, and Duquesne is 3-0 this year when he scores in double figures.
 
Paint Touches – The importance of regular touches in the low block has never been more evident than with Duquesne this season. The three core players that make up the center position for the Dukes in juniors David Dixon and Chabi Barre was well as sophomore Eli Wilborn have combined for 11 double-figure scoring games during the 2024-25 season, with the Dukes 8-2 (.800) in those contests. Dixon and Wilborn each scored in double figures in a 73-64 victory over Fordham (Feb. 19), with Dixon leading five players in double figures with 14 points and Wilborn supplying 10. Duquesne is also 4-0 this year when sophomore forward Jakub Necas scores in double figures after he returned to action after missing two games in a 67-62 victory at La Salle (Feb. 26) and contributed 10 points. In fact, the Dukes have won each of the six career games that Necas has scored 10 or more points.
 
Diamond Dave – Junior forward David Dixon paced the Dukes in a 73-64 victory over Fordham (Feb. 19), scoring 10 of his 14 points in the first half to bolster Duquesne. Dixon is, amazingly, the ninth different player for the Dukes this season to lead the team in scoring in a game, a category that is led by senior guard Tre Dinkins III with 11. In the first half against the Rams, Dixon provided three highlight reel dunks and is just one flush shy of 100 for his career in looking to become just the second player on record in school 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. Duquesne is 4-1 (.800) this season when Dixon scores in double figures as well as 15-7 (.681) over the last three seasons when he turns the trick.
 
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