GAME 3
Washington State (0-2) vs. Duquesne (2-0)
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh, Pa. | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (3,500)
 
Stream: ESPN+ with Tim Benz (pxp) & Ellis Cannon (color)
Radio: 104.7 HD2 | iHeartRadio with Darren Zaslau (pxp) & Ron Everhart (color)
 
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Opening Tip
 
- The Duquesne University men's basketball team continues a five-game homestand to open its 2026-27 season Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against Washington State at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
- The Dukes improved to 2-0 for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons in their last outing, earning a 68-58 victory over Central State (11/7). 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.
 
- Yoav Berman scored 10 runs during the burst against the Marauders and finished with a game-high 22 points in the victory while also notching seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Also reaching double figures in the win over Central State were forward Kerem Konon (11) and guard Arness Lawson (10).
 
- The Dukes opened their 111th year of NCAA Division I basketball with a 78-71 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne (11/3/26), using a 12-1 run to open up a 74-65 advantage with 1:24 to play en route to the win.
 
- Forward Kerem Konan and guard Josh Smith led four Dukes in double figures with 16 points each, while guards Yoav Berman and Jake DiMichele added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Konan finished with a game-high nine rebounds, while center Ege Demir finished with six points, eight boards and a pair of blocks.
 
- The Dukes, selected 10th in the 2026 Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, return two starters from 2025-26, including fifth-year guards Tarence Guinyard and Brandon Hall.
 
- Led by head coach Dru Joyce III, who is in his third year at the helm of the program, Duquesne welcomes 10 newcomers to the roster, including six transfers and four freshmen. In all, Duquesne returns just 27.7 percent (718-of-2,584) of its scoring and 14.6 percent (169-of-1,158) of its rebounding.
 
- The six NCAA Division I transfers that will compete for Duquesne this season entered the 2026-27 campaign with combined career totals of 2,672 points, 967 rebounds, 446 assists and 185 steals. The incoming transfer with the most career points is Berman with 756, who has scored 24 more points than Smith (732). Olowoniyi, meanwhile, owns 383 career rebounds during his NCAA Division I career.

- The Dukes will host Binghamton Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. after taking on Washington State in the fourth game of their five-game homestand.
 
At The Helm – Dru Joyce III was named the 18th head coach in the 111-year history of Duquesne basketball March 28, 2024, and in his third year at the helm in 2025-26. He owns an overall record of 33-34 (.492) 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 an 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. During his four seasons on the coaching staff on the Bluff, the Dukes have averaged 19 wins a season.  
 
Scouting the Cougars – Located in Pullman, Wash. ... Member of the Pac-12 Conference ... Tuesday marks the first meeting ever between Duquesne and Washington State on the hardwood ... It marks the second opponent in three games to open the 2026-27 season the Dukes have never faced prior to this year, joining Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 3) ... Duquesne is 9-11 (.450) all-time against members of the Pac-12 but are 8-1 (.889) against members of the conference in games played in Pittsburgh ... The last meeting between the Dukes and a member of the Pac-12 came Nov. 20, 2021, an 84-76 overtime loss to Colorado that was part of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas of the Virgin Islands ... Each of the nine games against a Pac-12 foe for Duquesne at home came between 1940 and 1974 ... The last time the Dukes hosted a Pac-12 member came Dec. 7, 1974, a 90-82 loss to Oregon that was the title game of the Steel Bowl ... The next season, the Ducks and Dukes would square off in the Far West Classic Dec. 26, 1975, in Portland, Oregon, with Duquesne earning a 78-74 win ... That triumph is the last win for the Dukes against a Pac-12 member ... Washington State is led by David Riley (Whitworth '11), who is in his third season as head coach of the Cougars and sixth year overall ... Riley scored 1,664 career points at Whitworth while helping lead the Pirates to the NCAA Division III Championship four times, including two appearances in the Sweet Sixteen and one in the Elite Eight ... The Cougars opened the 2026-27 season with a 76-61 loss at home to Davidson (Nov. 2) and in their first road game of the campaign dropped an 83-71 decision at High Point (Nov. 7) ... Both of the first two games of the year for Washington State are common opponents for Duquesne this year ... Sophomore guard Lazarek Houston has averaged 17.0 points in the first two games of the year for Washington State after transferring from NCAA Division II Central Missouri ... Last season for the Mules, Houston averaged 20.8 ppg en route to being named both the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year ... Guard Jaylen Harrell has averaged 15.5 points while shooting 65 percent (13-for-20) from the field in the first two games for the Cougars.
 
Central State Leftovers – Duquesne improved to 2-0 all-time against the Marauders in facing them for the second straight year ... A game after jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes against  Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 3) in their 2026-27 season opener, the Dukes fell behind Central State, 9-0, in the first four minutes of the game ... Redshirt freshman guard Arness Lawson scored the first basket of the contest for Duquesne with a layup at 15:45 after an offensive rebound, and the 10-point performance marked his first career double-figure scoring effort ... The Dukes held a 39-24 edge in rebounding, including a 16-5 cushion in offensive caroms ... Central State finished with three blocked shots, while the Dukes failed to post a rejection for just the sixth time under third-year head coach Dru Joyce III.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne Leftovers – The Dukes improved to 92-19 (.828) all-time in season openers, including an 87-5 (.946) mark when opening the year at home ... The tilt against the Mastodons was the first in program history between the two programs ... An astounding 85.9 percent (67-of-78) of the offensive output for Duquesne were from student-athletes making their debut on the Bluff ... The only returning player to score for the Dukes was guard Jake DiMichele, who contributed 11 points ... Forward Kerem Konan, center Ege Demir and guard Arness Lawson each made their first NCAA Division I start ... For Konan, his 16-point effort marked his first career game in double figures as he shot 7-for-10 from the floor, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc ... Duquesne shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field.
 
Defense Wins Championships – Duquesne owns a record of 22-8 (.733)  under head coach Dru Joyce III when holding opponents to under 70 points after a 68-58 victory over Central State (Nov. 7) at the UPMC Cooper FIeldhouse. The Dukes have also won 39 consecutive games dating back to the 2018-19 campaign when holding opponents to under 60 points thanks to the victory over the Marauders. Included in that stretch is a perfect 27-0 mark in five years Joyce III has been a member of the coaching staff on the Bluff, including two years as associate head coach from 2022 to 2024.
 
Ride The Berm – Guard Yoav Berman has stepped up in the early going for Duquesne this season and is proving the ability to stuff the stat sheet. He powered the Dukes to a 68-58 victory over Central State (Nov. 7) by scoring 12 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and finished 7-of-10 from the field, including 4-for-7 from deep, and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. Berman has made his opportunities count, as through the first two games of the campaign he has converted 72.2 percent (13-of-18) of his shots from the floor. That success rate ranks eighth in the Atlantic 10 entering action this week. Meanwhile, Berman also has grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and logged a pair of steals in the first two contests of the season. The performance against Central State marked Berman's 40th career double-figure scoring effort.
 
Did You Know? The first two games for Duquesne during the 2026-27 campaign have witnessed four players earn their first career starting assignment at the NCAA Division I level, including center Ege Demir, forward Kerem Konan and guards Arness Lawson and Jackson Williams. That stands to reason why the longest active streak for consecutive games played at Duquesne belongs to guard Jake DiMichele with just three dating back to last year.
 
The Snake – As for redshirt junior guard Jake DiMichele, he may hold a key for the Dukes this season. The last remaining player from Duquesne's magical run to the Atlantic 10 Championship and automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2024, DiMichele will look to continue the upward trajectory he flashed as a sophomore before injury shut his season down. Despite coming off the bench in each of his last 34 games, including the first seven in 2024-25, DiMichele averaged 10.9 points that year while shooting 50 percent (29-for-58) from the field. Included among that stretch was a career-high 21 points against Milwaukee in which he scored 19 points in the second half and overall shot 9-of-13 from the floor. As a freshman during the 2023-24 campaign, the Dukes were 15-6 (.716) with DiMichele as a member of the starting lineup.
 
Geography Lesson – The 2026-27 Duquesne roster features 16 players that represent six states in the United States as well as six different countries internationally. Among the states represented this year are three from Pennsylvania, two each from Florida and Illinois and one from Georgia, Maryland and Ohio. Internationally, countries represented on the 111th roster in Duquesne program history include Australia, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Nigeria and Türkiye. 
 
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