Duquesne can be happy with the win. The Dukes’ defense? That’s another matter.

Through seven games, it’s no secret coach Dru Joyce III’s focus has centered around the pace of his team’s play.

“We’re not playing in the 60s now,” he said. “We’re playing in the 90s, almost.”

With it, understandably, comes more chances for opponents to score as well.

But the idea is to outscore your opponent, which Duquesne managed to accomplish Wednesday night in a 101-80 victory over Division II Central State (Ohio) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

The Dukes, who are averaging 88.1 points per game, shot a season-high 64.4% (38 for 59), including 21 for 30 (70%) in the second half. But it marked the fifth time in seven games that they’ve yielded at least 80 points.

“We’ve got to pick our effort up (on defense),” Duquesne junior guard Jimmie Williams said.

“Offensively,” senior guard Cam Crawford added, “we’re not going to have a problem. The whole team, everybody can put the ball in the rim. That’s not really our concern. Being physical, not fouling, being in gaps and being able to help each other and rotate — those are our big focuses. It took us a little longer to get it going, but once we got it going, it was going.”

The Dukes struggled to shake loose from Central State in the first half, so much so that Joyce replaced his entire starting lineup with about four minutes gone by.

“It was very intentional,” Joyce said. “I was very unhappy where we were, defensively. I’m just going to trust the next five guys to go in and see what they can do. They steadied us a little bit. Their effort was better. We got some stops in there. That’s the type of effort and energy you want from the bench, regardless of the situation.”

Four days after losing a high-scoring affair in Joyce’s hometown of Akron, Ohio, Williams scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures as Duquesne outpaced Central State, the first time the Dukes reached the century mark in eight seasons.

Duquesne last scored 100 points in a game on Jan. 13, 2018, a triple-overtime 101-94 victory over La Salle at Palumbo Center.

Crawford (17 points), Maximus Edwards (14), Tarence Guinyard (13) and John Hugley IV (11) also reached double digits for Duquesne (5-2), which remains at home for two more games beginning Tuesday night against William & Mary and followed by an afternoon contest Dec. 6 against Stony Brook.

While Duquesne last scored 100 points against an Atlantic 10 opponent, the latest feat came against Central State, a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Keionte Cornelius led Central State (3-3) with 22 points. Ramar Pryor added 17, Javantae Randle chipped in 12 and JaMonte Williams finished with 11 for the Marauders, from Wilburforce, Ohio.

Williams shot 7 for 11, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, despite playing just 15 minutes.

“Coach said a good amount of things (at halftime),” Williams said. “It was needed, for sure, because I think our energy was better in the second half. We had more energy on the court and more energy on the bench. We played better with more energy and we had more ball pressure in the second half.”

Said Joyce: “At halftime, I just showed them every clip of how we were being scored on (in the first half). There was no denial.”

Duquesne broke open a close game in the second half, outscoring Central State 57-44 after leading by eight points at the break.

Following a 93-86 loss to Northeastern in the Morgan & Morgan Classic at Joyce’s alma mater of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Duquesne was hoping for a chance to dominate against a Division II opponent that opened the season against another Division I school, losing to Detroit Mercy, 75-67, on Oct. 30.

Against the Horizon League’s Titans, Central State cut an 18-point deficit with 3:51 remaining to six points in the closing seconds before succumbing.

The Marauders gave Duquesne fits in the early going, leading by as many as four points near the midpoint and trailed at halftime, 44-36.

The game marked the return of Duquesne sophomore guard Jake DiMichele, who was playing for the first time in exactly a year. DiMichele, a fan favorite who starred at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, injured his foot on Nov. 26, 2024, and did not play for the remainder of last season.

He was among the group to replace Duquesne’s starters early on.

“He immediately made a great play,” Joyce said. “He got a piece of the ball on Cornelius’ jump shot, which forced probably one of the few misses they had early on in the game.”

While DiMichele was seeing the court for the first time this season, Edwards, the former A-10 Rookie of the Year with George Washington, was back in the lineup after sitting out Saturday’s game and playing just four minutes in a 92-78 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 19.

The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter played nearly 25 minutes against Central State, converting 6 of 9 shots with three assists and four rebounds.

“Sometimes, players have a tendency to treat their minutes from a sense of entitlement at times,” Joyce said. “It’s just supposed to happen and that’s just not nearly the case, not at least in my program. I’m going to make you work for it. If you practice and you are here for the team and you’re pouring in those habits, I can get with that. If it’s the other way around, then if I’m not the best teacher, sometimes the bench is.”

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