Washington, D.C. – St. Bonaventure used a 13-1 run over the final 3:47 to earn a 64-59 victory over the Duquesne University men's basketball team in the second round of the 2025 Atlantic 10 Championship Thursday at Capital One Arena. The Dukes conclude the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 13-19 (.406).
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Sophomore forward Jakub Necas took an outlet pass from senior guard Tre Dinkins III and provided a jam on the break to give Duquesne a 58-51 lead with 4:17 remaining. Necas, who was fouled in the act, missed the and one opportunity, and the Bonnies began the deciding surge with just under four minutes to go. Noel Brown converted in the paint with his back to the basket for a layup to pull SBU to within 58-53 to ignite the run, while a floater from Melvin Council, Jr., tied the contest, 58-58, with 2:19 to go. A pair at the free-throw line from Council, Jr., at 1:38 pushed St. Bonaventure (22-10) on top, but the Dukes had a chance to tie it. Dinkins III drew contact on a drive to the basket, but he missed the front end of a pair at the stripe. Council, Jr., who scored the final eight points of the game for the Bonnies, would extend the lead to 62-59 with a pull-up jumper with just over a minute to go.
 
QUOTABLE
"My guys, from day one, have been willing to adjust, to learn, to buy-in and to go on a journey," head coach Dru Joyce III said. "You don't know how this thing is going to play out, and no team does. You have your aspirations and your goals. Step-by-step, you battle challenges and adversity. You have to figure out if that journey is worth it and do you still have faith in it? I commend each and every one on my roster and my program because, they had unbelievable faith. They rallied. They fought. They fought not only for me, but for each other. I look at the game today, and we were locked in. It's unfortunate the outcome wasn't in our favor. But as a team, as a whole, they played with power, energy, effort and focus. You can play well and still lose. That's the game. That's what we love about it. We fell short today."
 
THE SIXTH MAN
Redshirt junior guard Maximus Edwards, who came off the bench in each of Duquesne's 18 games in Atlantic 10 play and again Thursday against the Bonnies, closed out the 2024-25 campaign as a force offensively. He helped give the Dukes their largest lead, 45-32, with 13:35 to play with a dunk on a feed from redshirt junior guard Cam Crawford. The following possession for the Bonnies saw Jonah Hinton bury a deep three-pointer as time was dwindling on the shot clock, but Edwards answered, hitting his third triple of the contest and push the lead to 48-35. Edwards led the Dukes with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and also added six rebounds. He closed the 2024-25 season by reaching double figures in each of the final five games of the year, averaging 13.4 points and 3.8 rebounds during that stretch while shooting 49 percent (24-for-49) from the field. Edwards is 14 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau.
 
QUOTABLE
"Max has started the majority of his career," Joyce III said. "We made an adjustment, and he bought in. It wasn't an easy adjustment. What he did was he didn't quit on himself. There are so many guys that quit. When things don't go their way, or they're unhappy, they quit. He didn't quit. As a coach, it can go two ways. I believe I have a room of guys that are willing to fight for me. We didn't lose our way. We stayed with our focus and stayed together. We just have to continue to grow."
 
NOTES
Edwards scored 12 points in the second half and was one of three players to reach double figures for Duquesne … Junior forward Matúš Hronský contributed 11 points and Dinkins III added 10 … Dinkins III closed the season by scoring in double figures in each of the final 17 contests of the year … The Dukes suffered 18 turnovers, their highest total against a conference opponent this year … Duquesne led for 36:30 … Council, Jr., who tied for game-high honors in scoring with Edwards and teammate Lajae Jones with 18 points, hit double figures in scoring for the 23rd consecutive game for St. Bonaventure … The Dukes outrebounded the Bonnies, 40-30, including an 11-9 edge on the offensive glass … Both teams scored 24 points in the paint … SBU owned a 24-4 cushion in points off turnovers … Necas missed his first career double-double with nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds … Duquesne had a four-game winning streak in the Atlantic 10 Championship, its longest in program history, snapped … A total of 20 of the 32 games (62.5%) for the Dukes during the 2024-25 season were decided by nine points or less, including 12 by five points or fewer.
 
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and information on Duquesne basketball, follow the Dukes on X and Instagram.