GAME 18
Duquesne (9-8 | 1-3 Atlantic 10) at Fordham (10-8 | 1-4 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 | 12:30 p.m.
Bronx, N.Y. | Rose Hill Gym (3,200)
 
TV: USA Network with Steve Schlanger (pxp) & Dr. John Giannini (color)
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) (pxp) & Noah Buono ('22) (color)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team heads back on the road Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. tip against Fordham at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, N.Y., in a game that will be televised nationally on the USA Network.
 
- The Dukes are looking to snap a three-game losing streak after dropping a 71-65 decision to Dayton (Jan. 13) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Junior guard Jimmie Williams and graduate forward Alex Williams each scored 15 points to lead the Dukes against the Flyers, while junior forward Jakub Nečas contributed 12 points.
 
- In Atlantic 10 play, the trio of Jimmie Williams, Alex Williams and Jakub Nečas has combined to average 38.0 points per game while shooting 47.1 percent (49-for-104) from the field, while senior guard Tarence Guinyard leads Duquesne in scoring against conference opposition at 18.8 points per contest while also dishing out 5.5 assists per game and shooting 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the floor.
 
- The Dukes have gone to overtime in each of their last two road games, an 89-83 victory in double OT at Davidson (Dec. 30) to open A-10 play as well as a 97-90 loss at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 7), but have never gone to overtime in three consecutive road games in the 110-year history of the program.
 
- Duquesne enters Saturday's game at Fordham ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (85.1 ppg), a total that also ranks 45th in NCAA Division I, and second in field goal percentage (.492), trailing only Saint Louis (.520).
 
- 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). Thanks to an 83-63 victory over Niagara (Nov. 3) in its 2025-26 season opener, Duquesne earned program victory No. 1,500.
 
- 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 686 points and 504 rebounds and is just the second player in program history to eclipse career totals of both 100 blocks and 100 dunks.
 
- Dixon is one of just four players in the Atlantic 10 this season that have 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.
 
- Redshirt senior guard Maximus Edwards scored 10 points in a 92-80 win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 7) to reach exactly 1,000 points for his career. 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 385 points in his time at Duquesne. He owns a career scoring average of 10.0 points in 111 games at the NCAA Division I level thanks to 1,107 points.
 
- The Dukes return home after taking on Fordham to host the Billikens Tuesday, Jan. 20, for a 7:00 p.m. tip at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.  
 
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 22-27 (.449) 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 Rams – Saturday marks the 53rd game in an all-time series that dates to Dec. 22, 1949, with Duquesne owning a 30-22 (.577) edge … The Dukes won six consecutive games in the series before Fordham earned a 72-71 win at Rose Hill Gym in January of 2022 … The six-game win streak matched the longest by either team in the series … Ten of the past 14 meetings between the two programs have been single-digit affairs, with five of the past 12 decided by five points or less … The two teams split the 2024-25 season series, with each team winning on its home court … In the last meeting at Rose Hill Gym, Josh Rivera's three-pointer with 23.9 seconds helped give the Rams a 65-63 victory Jan. 26, 2025 … The Dukes had two chances in the final seconds to send the game into overtime, but a jumper from the elbow from Tre Dinkins III was off the mark and the putback attempt from Cam Crawford was strong … Duquesne won the rematch at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (Feb. 19, 2025), 73-64, with David Dixon scoring 14 points.
 
Dayton Leftovers – The Dukes have dropped three consecutive games in the all-time series and haven't knocked off the Flyers in the regular season since 2021 ... Both teams finished with 31 rebounds, with the Dukes owning an 8-6 edge in offensive boards ... Dayton finished with more free throws (23) than Duquesne had free-throw attempts (22) ... The 24 points in the first half are the fewest points scored by the Dukes in a half this season and matches their lowest output in a half in two years under head coach Dru Joyce III ... Duquesne also scored 24 points in the first half of an eventual 62-53 setback to Massachusetts (Feb. 1, 2025) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse ... Duquesne owned advantages in points in the paint (24-22), points off turnovers (17-11) and bench points (18-14) but were outscored on the fastbreak, 25-5 ... In just under 10 minutes of action forward John Hugley IV scored three points and grabbed a pair of rebounds in his first action since Dec. 10. 
 
500 – Senior forward David Dixon reached 500 rebounds for his career against Dayton (Jan. 13) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, as his offensive carom with 27 seconds left in the first half helped him reach the plateau. Dixon finished with nine points, a game-high nine rebounds and a block against the Flyers, continuing a stretch of solid play for the Memphis, Tenn., native since being inserted into the starting lineup. Over the last seven games, Dixon has supplied the Dukes with averages of 8.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 67.6 percent (23-for-34) from the field and 92.3 percent (12-for-13) at the free-throw line. He registered his second career double-double and first of the 2025-26 season at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 7), finishing with a season-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. He also set a career high in rebounds during his stretch as a starter, grabbing 13 in an 89-83 double overtime victory at Davidson (Dec. 30) to open Atlantic 10 play. Entering Saturday's game at Fordham, Dixon sits eighth in the conference this season with an average of 1.2 blocks per game.
 
J Will – Arguably turning into the most consistent scorer for the Dukes this season is junior guard Jimmie Williams. Williams enters Saturday's game at Fordham having scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games after tying for game-high honors with 15 points against Dayton (Jan. 13). During that stretch, Williams has produced averages of 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per contest while shooting 52.9 percent (73-for-138) from the field and 86.1 percent (31-for-36) at the free-throw line. Williams, who was named the final Atlantic 10 Player of the Week (Dec. 29) of the 2025 calendar year, ranks 20th overall this season in the conference in field goal percentage at 50 percent (93-for-186) and 22nd in free-throw percentage at 77.6 percent (38-for-49). He also enters Saturday's tilt having hit at least one three-pointer in each of his last 14 games. Meanwhile, since opening his Duquesne career just 2-for-7 at the free-throw line in the first three games of the year, Williams has converted 36 of his last 42 opportunities (85.7%).
 
A Will – While junior guard Jimmie Williams has settled into a groove offensively, forward Alex Williams has solidified himself as a key piece to the rotation and one of the top options off the bench for Duquesne this year. Alex Williams tied for game-high honors in scoring with 15 points against Dayton (Jan. 13) and entering Saturday's game at Fordham has scored in double figures in four of his last six games. During that span, Alex Williams has scored at an 11.0 points per game clip while grabbing 2.3 rebounds per game and shooting 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from the field, including 50 percent (11-for-22) from beyond the arc, and 76.5 percent (13-for-17) at the free-throw line. Overall this season, Alex Williams has connected on 38.1 percent (16-of-42) of his attempts from deep, which ranks 23rd in the Atlantic 10.
 
The Road Is Life – Very few players have been as locked in away from the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse this season than senior guard Tarence Guinyard. In five road games, Guinyard has averaged 19.2 points, converting 49.3 percent (33-of-67) of his shots from the field, including 42.5 percent (17-for-40) from deep, while also averaging 4.6 assists per contest. In the last road game for Duquesne, Guinyard paced the Dukes in an overtime setback at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 7) with 20 points while also handing out five dimes. Guinyard has scored at least 20 points in four of the five road games for Duquesne, including a season-high 30 at Villanova (Nov. 15) as the Dukes wrapped up the Villanova Challenge. The points per game average for Guinyard in road contests is even more impressive considering he scored just a single point at Boise State (Dec. 10) to open a two-game road trip before leading all scorers with 21 points three days later at Nevada (Dec. 13). He also finished with a game-high 24 points at Davidson (Dec. 30) to open Atlantic 10 action. Guinyard enters Saturday's game ranked fourth in the A-10 in scoring both overall (16.5 ppg) and against conference (18.8 ppg) foes.
 
Distributor – Not only does senior guard Tarence Guinyard possess the ability to score the basketball, he's just as good at creating offense, as well. Guinyard missed his first career double-double by just an assist in a 103-59 victory over Canisius (Dec. 22), contributing 21 points and a career-high nine dimes. More importantly, Guinyard didn't suffer a turnover in the win against the Golden Griffins. Duquesne is 7-1 (.875) this season when Guinyard posts at least six assists in a game, as the Dukes suffered their first loss of the year against Dayton (Jan. 13) when he handed out six dimes. When Guinyard finishes with five dimes or less, Duquesne is 2-7 (.222).
 
Downtown – Bolstered by tying a season high with 16 three-pointers in its Atlantic 10 opener at Davidson (Dec. 30), an 89-83 overtime victory, Duquesne is averaging 10.0 three-pointers per game in conference play entering Saturday's game against Fordham at Rose Hill Gym. The Dukes are 6-2 (.750) this season when draining at least 10 triples in a game and overall among Atlantic 10 leaders rank fifth in the conference with an average of 9.35 per contest. Arguably the most consistent shooter this season has been junior forward Jakub Nečas, who has picked his spots, converting 48 percent (12-for-25) of his attempts on the year.
 
Double Jeopardy – Nearing his first career double-double multiple times over the previous month, junior forward Jakub Nečas broke through in Duquesne's final non-conference game of the 2025-26 campaign, a 99-49 victory over Cleary (Dec. 27) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Nečas matched a career high for the third time this season with 10 rebounds while scoring 11 points in the win over the Cougars. Nečas also tied a career high in scoring with 15 points at Saint Joseph's (Jan. 7), and he enters Saturday's game at Fordham averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds over his last 12 games while shooting 59.4 percent (41-for-69) from the field. Duquesne owns a record of 10-6 (.625) since the beginning of the 2023-24 season when Nečas scores in double figures.
 
Paint Touches – A key to the success Duquesne has had this season in scoring has been due to its work in the paint. The Dukes are averaging 38.6 points in the paint through 17 games, scoring at least 30 in 13 of their 17 games, at least 40 on six occasions and at least 50 four times. To put that in perspective, Duquesne scored at least 40 points in the paint a total of four times in 32 games last season in the first year for Dru Joyce III as head coach. The Dukes matched a season-high in points in the paint (56) in a 99-49 win over Cleary (Dec. 27) and are 6-4 (.600) since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign when scoring at least 40 points in the post, including a mark of 4-2 (.667) this year.
 
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