Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team continued a five-game homestand to open its 2026-27 season Saturday, earning a 68-58 victory over Central State at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes improved to 2-0 for the second straight year as well as the third time in the last four seasons.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Gabe Clemmons drove the lane and converted a layup with 6:11 remaining that gave the Marauders a 53-52 advantage, but the Dukes held Central State scoreless for the next five minutes, using a 14-0 run to open up a 66-53 lead 1:34 to play. Junior
Yoav Berman ignited the deciding burst with a three-pointer and scored 10 points during the surge, including a 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line as well as a pair of triples. Berman scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the second half on a 7-of-10 performance from the field, including 4-for-7 from deep, while also adding seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
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"I don't necessarily love our performance and how we got the win," head coach
Dru Joyce III said. "We can be much better. We can win a lot of games if your defense keeps you in the game, although we still gave up some contested three's that I thought we could've taken away with much better discipline and attention to detail. We would have liked to have gotten off to a better start, but that didn't happen today. Our guys showed enough poise to fight their way back into the game. We've done a good job of defending without fouling in these first couple of games."
ACTIVE
In addition to Berman, junior
Kerem Konan and redshirt freshman
Arness Lawson also finished in double figures for Duquesne, with Konan posting 11 points and eight rebounds despite playing with four fouls, while Lawson registered his first career double-figure scoring effort at the NCAA Division I level with 10 points while also contributing eight boards and a pair of steals. Lawson owns six steals through the first two games of the 2026-27 as Duquesne finished with nine thefts in the contest and forced the Marauders into 18 turnovers. Joining Lawson and Berman in posting two steals was senior forward
Stephen Olowoniyi.
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"My patience is always tested," Joyce said. "We just have to stay the course when things aren't going right is really what you're trying to see from your players. There were a lot of slow possessions. Central State really used a lot of the shot clock. That's going to slow the game down. Taking time off the clock throws your rhythm off and your patience off, too. Those are moments where you have to make sure you control your emotions. Who can stay the course? Those are things that you try to look for from a coaching perspective. When it's a game played at that pace and you're behind and there's a lot of lead changes, emotionally if you're not stable enough you can cost yourself."
NOTES
Central State owned its biggest lead by jumping out to a 9-0 advantage in the first four minutes of the contest, with the first basket of the game for Duquesne coming courtesy of Lawson with a layup after an offensive rebound … The contest featured six ties and 15 lead changes … The Dukes held a 34-16 edge in points in the paint but despite forcing 18 turnovers held a slim advantage in points off miscues, 17-15 … Emanuel Henriques paced the Marauders with 14 points on the strength of a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc … Central State finished 8-for-20 (40%) from deep compared to 5-of-22 (22.7%) for the Dukes … Duquesne leads the all-time series, 2-0 … The Dukes held a 39-24 edge in rebounding, including a 16-5 cushion on the offensive glass … Central State rejected three shots compared to none for Duquesne.
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"There's no excuse for whoever the opponent is," Joyce said. "Whoever walks through the door is a stranger. We have to attack any opponent the same way. Did we have some slippage tonight? Possibly. The flow of the game was more responsible for the effects than anything. We didn't generate enough easy opportunities for ourselves to propel us forward until the last stretch. We have a responsibility to make sure to take full advantage of our opportunity. That's all we talk about."
UP NEXT
Duquesne hosts Washington State Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7:00 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse to continue a five-game homestand.
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