Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's basketball team earned its third consecutive win Saturday with a 75-57 victory over St. Bonaventure at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes, winners of seven of their last eight games and nine of their last 12, have erased an 0-6 start to the 2024-25 season and evened their overall record at 9-9 (.500) while improving to 4-1 (.800) in the Atlantic 10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne found its touch from beyond the arc early, using a 14-2 burst to open up a 25-12 advantage at the 9:38 mark of the first half. Junior forward
Matúš Hronksý got the Dukes started with a three-pointer and also provided a dunk off a steal and feed from senior
Jahsean Corbett that gave the Dukes a 19-10 lead and forced the Bonnies to call timeout. Redshirt junior guard
Maximus Edwards again provided a spark off the bench, scoring 12 points in the first half on the strength of a 4-for-6 performance from deep, including triples on consecutive possessions that gave Duquesne a 13-point edge. The Dukes matched a season high with 14 three-pointers against St. Bonaventure (15-4 | 3-3 Atlantic 10), a total they originally connected for in a
70-54 victory over UC Irvine (Dec. 21).
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"The main thing is confidence, and that's just my teammates believing in me every day," Edwards said. "Even through all these bad stretches, they tell me to shoot the ball. The coaches and my teammates are the main thing. They believe in me. Without them I wouldn't have had this game today. Our main focus is defense. Defense will turn into offense. I think that's why we got those easy threes today. I think we did a great job defensively. That's just gap control, and that's everyone. Not just the defender but the other four people on the floor. Being in gaps and being in rotation."
THREE BALL, CORNER POCKET
St. Bonaventure closed to within 38-33 by scoring the first four points of the second half, but seven consecutive points from redshirt junior guard
Cam Crawford helped Duquesne stretch its lead back to double digits, 45-33. He went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line before burying a pair of three-pointers from the corner on back-to-back possessions. The Bonnies would rally and close to within 48-42 with 12:37 left after a layup from Duane Thompson, but sophomore forward
Eli Wilborn answered on the next play for the Dukes with a layup, while a triple from Edwards gave the Dukes a 53-42 cushion midway through the second half. The lead swelled to 63-47 with 6:34 remaining after a layup from junior forward
David Dixon, who contributed eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, four rebounds, a block and a steal in the victory.
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"Defensively, St. Bonaventure's tendency is to protect the paint," head coach
Dru Joyce III said. "Our ball movement and our use of the pick and roll, we made the right passes and the right plays. We got a lot of catch and shoot opportunities. Those are the types of shots we want to create. We did it through post play and through penetration. We didn't have a huge output in the paint, but I'll take our 14 makes from three."
MAXIMUM EFFORT
Edwards paced the Dukes with 17 points off the bench, finishing 6-of-8 from the field, including 5-for-7 from international waters. He also added four rebounds, an assist and a block in the victory. Five different players posted a rejection Saturday as the Dukes finished with eight blocks, just a game after notching a season-high with 12 rejections in a
73-65 win at George Washington (Jan. 15). Sophomore forward
Jakub Necas led the way by matching a career high with three blocks while also finishing with seven points and a team-high six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the Dukes was Crawford, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and senior guard
Tre Dinkins III, who finished with 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
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"I think our culture was right," Joyce III said. "I do believe the building blocks and the values were there. It just wasn't coming together at the beginning of the year. Growth, from myself, from our staff and our players. The same way I challenged our players and my staff to be better, I challenged myself. We accepted the challenge and accepted that we weren't very good. I didn't let them fall on the sword alone. I had to be better, as well, too. It's us continuing to build and grow and just stay in the moment. Not thinking about what's ahead of us. Just being ready for the one opportunity that we had today."
NOTES
The Dukes have opened the Atlantic 10 slate with a 4-1 (.800) record for the third time in the last seven seasons, with only a 5-0 start during the 2019-20 campaign a better opening for Duquesne during that stretch … The Dukes extended their winning streak against St. Bonaventure to five, its longest in the all-time series since winning five straight during the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons … Duquesne has also won five consecutive games at home … The Dukes posted 21 assists on their 28 field goals, with Dinkins III and junior guard
Kareem Rozier combining for 12 dimes and no turnovers … Dinkins III and Rozier each registered six assists in the win … Duquesne is 7-0 this season when Crawford scores in double figures … The Bonnies were led by Noel Brown, who notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds … Melvin Council, Jr., scored 15 of his 17 points in the opening 20 minutes for St. Bonaventure … Duquesne was outscored in the paint, 32-24, but owned a 40-10 edge in points off the bench as well as a 16-5 cushion in points off turnovers … Each team finished with 33 rebounds ... Duquesne debuted its new red uniforms in the victory.
UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes a two-game homestand Tuesday, Jan. 21, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Dayton at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
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