The collective groans from the group inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse when Queens guard Nasir Mann hit a go-ahead three to place the Royals up 71-70, it felt oddly acquainted. The Duquesne workforce of 2024-25 misplaced a number of video games in comparable vogue. However not this workforce, not on this explicit Tuesday night time in November.
Regardless of a brutal night time from past the arc (4-23), the Duquesne Dukes (3-0) rallied and survived for a 87-81 additional time win over the Queens Royals (1-3) to win their third straight at dwelling to open up the 2025-26 season.
Duquesne Head Coach Dru Joyce III sees this version of the Dukes as a brand new squad, and tries to not hinge on final 12 months’s disappointments.
“That’s the season earlier than,” Joyce defined. “And you are taking these moments, you be taught from them, however this can be a new workforce, proper? And I don’t attempt to inflect this workforce with ideas and concepts from final 12 months.
That was our first time truly in a detailed recreation throughout this early a part of the season. And I believe we did present some grit, proper? It wasn’t simple, that they had the momentum proper? They’d the momentum, that they had issues going their approach. However we continued to battle and make some performs.”
As soon as Mann hit that shot to make it a one level recreation with two minutes to go, Dukes Ahead Jakub Nečas hit a giant three to place his workforce up. WIth a minute to go and Queens with the ball, the Royals obtained 4 seems to be on the internet and after the third offensive rebound, Avantae Parker lastly got here by way of to tie issues up at 73. After Dukes guard Tarence Guinyard was denied on the rim by Parker (his third block of the night time), Queens gave Duquesne every thing they might deal with on the opposite finish to complete off regulation, with Yoav Berman lacking two seems to be on the basket. Berman completed with 22 factors, however him lacking each of these photographs was all Duquesne wanted to lastly slam the door shut in additional time.
Within the additional time interval, the Dukes took the lead off of a Nečas layup a minute into the stanza and by no means let go. Nečas made numerous performs on and off the stat sheet within the latter a part of this one which helped propel his workforce to victory. He thought that he didn’t play his finest basketball within the two video games final week, so he was grateful to the teaching workers and his teammates for the continued perception.
“I lastly confirmed up,” Nečas mentioned. “I’m simply making an attempt to carry myself and simply play basketball and be wholesome as a lot as I can.”
Within the additional time interval, Duquesne shot an ideal 4-for-4 from the sphere, with reigning A-10 Underneath Armour Participant of the Week Tarence Guinyard main all scorers with 4 factors. Guinyard had 10 factors on the night time, dished out seven assists and nabbed three steals.
John Hugley IV as soon as once more supplied a spark for the Dukes contained in the paint, scoring 27 factors and grabbing 11 rebounds. It was his first double-double as a member of Duquesne.
Max Edwards additionally contributed for the Dukes within the OT interval with a subject purpose of his personal. He got here off the bench once more tonight and gave Duquesne 16 huge factors. 10 of these got here within the second half, and Edwards had half of the three-pointers that Duquesne made with two.
The Dukes held a commanding lead all through the primary half, going up 35-14 with below 6 minutes to go within the first half. However this recreation turned extra intense by the tip of the half. Within the ultimate 5:45 of the Royals outscored the Dukes 18-6.
Within the second half, regardless of a gradual begin, Duquesne was truly in a position to stretch their lead out to 16 with 10:52 to go in regulation following a floater from Dukes guard Dom Aekins. That momentum was lengthy passed by the tip of regulation, with the Royals outscoring the Dukes 29-13 the remainder of the best way till additional time.
With wins like this, Duquesne continues to construct confidence and work in direction of their final purpose, one which goes past that stat sheets for guys like Hugley.
I don’t even take a look at the scoreboard, what number of factors I obtained,” Hugley said. “I’m simply out right here making an attempt to play the appropriate approach, making an attempt to steer these guys to an A-10 Championship, man. I believe that’s the larger purpose right here.”
BONUS POINTS
Dave Dixon would possibly seem in your TV screens on Wednesday morning when SportsCenter unveils their “High 10 Performs” after what he pulled off tonight within the second half:
