Of all the ridiculous sayings made famous by Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, the late New York Yankees great, “It ain’t over till it’s over” should rank near the top.

Duquesne’s basketball team certainly believed in that simple axiom on a special day Saturday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

The Dukes, on David Dixon’s buzzer-beating tip-in, became just the fourth Division I team ever to overcome a 30-point deficit and win in a 79-77 victory over Richmond in the annual Chuck Cooper Classic.

DAVID DIXON tip-in caps a 30-point comeback win!

✔️ 4th-largest comeback in D-I history✔️ A-10 record✔️ Improves A-10 tournament seed#GoDukes | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/qBUcp9yRgI

— Duquesne Athletics (@GoDuquesne) March 7, 2026

“I don’t even know if I knew the deficit,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “I tried to just keep fighting. I know the players are excited about what they just did, and they should be.”

Dixon’s winning shot, which was reviewed and confirmed, followed Tarence Guinyard’s missed 3-pointer and set off a wild celebration after Duquesne overcame an 11-point deficit with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left.

“It’s all a blur,” Dixon said afterwards, using a towel to wipe the sweat from his face. “I remember tipping it in. I remember saying, ‘Please, let this go in.’ ”

His teammates quickly rallied around Dixon, hoisting him while the crowd was erupting with glee. He pumped his fist and acknowledged the cheers, then went to a nearby scorer’s table and stood on a ledge, where he continued to salute the fans.

“Honestly, words can’t explain it,” Dixon, a senior forward, said. “It’s crazy. I didn’t think it was going to end that way, but I’m glad we ended up making our way back. I had belief we were going to win the game, but I didn’t know how.”

Duquesne (17-14, 9-9) ended a four-game losing streak to head into the Atlantic 10 Tournament at PPG Paints Arena with a bit of momentum. The Dukes, who have a first-round bye, will be the No. 7 seed and play No. 10 Rhode Island in a second-round game at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The teams split a pair of games during the regular season, the most recent result coming Wednesday, a 64-52 Rhode Island victory in Kingston, R.I.

Duquesne defeated the Rams, 76-61, on Feb. 1 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

It was an astounding comeback Saturday. Duquesne trailed Richmond, 40-10, seemingly before anyone blinked. But the Spiders (15-16, 5-13), who shot a sizzling 63.8% (30 for 47), failed to make it stand up.

The final score represented Duquesne’s only lead.

“That first half, we got rocked,” Joyce said. “Our play didn’t seem right.”

But when Joyce and his staff decided to scrap the original game plan and start “getting downhill,” things began to turn.

Duquesne managed to slice the Richmond lead to 49-28 at halftime, and the Dukes came all the way back on the strength of a 51-28 second-half scoring advantage.

“Listen, when you’ve got the ball in a tie game, you couldn’t ask to be in a better position with a chance to win on your home floor,” Joyce said. “The biggest thing was just make sure we get the last shot. The execution was pretty good. We wound up getting the kick-out 3,” and the rest, as they say, is history.

Guinyard’s shot bounded off the back of the iron, and Dixon was under the hoop to guide it in as the red light on the backboard went on.

“Credit to Dave. That’s a big-time effort, not watching the basketball, but going to attack it,” Joyce said. “And good touch, too. It wasn’t a tip dunk this time. He had to put some touch on that basketball. Just tremendous around the board from our guys.”

Playing his final home game at Duquesne, Dixon’s 17 points and 11 rebounds sparked the Dukes on Senior Day. He is one of just four players in the A-10 this season to have spent an entire college career with one program.

Richmond’s Mike Walz is among the others.

Alex Williams led Duquesne with 22 points off the bench, converting 6 of 10 shots, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

Guinyard added 16 points, and Jimmie Williams chipped in 12 for the Dukes.

Though the usual names appeared, Joyce gave a shout-out to senior Maximus Edwards, who played 21 minutes and finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists. One of his baskets was a breakaway dunk.

Edwards, who’d played in 20 of the previous 30 games, became buried on the bench after several times drawing the ire of Joyce for his inconsistent play.

But when Duquesne’s offense stagnated against Richmond, Joyce looked to the athletic Edwards, a 3-point shooter who was the A-10 Rookie of the Year as a freshman at George Washington.

“Max Edwards had a terrific effort, defensively and offensively,” Joyce said. “We talked about lot of things when he wasn’t playing, about staying ready for your opportunity. You can talk about a lot of things, but it really means something when you can put it into action.”

A.J. Lopez led Richmond with 15 points. Mikkel Tyne and Will Johnston added 14 each, and Aiden Argabright finished with 10.

The Division I record for the largest comeback to win a game is 34 by Drexel in 2018 against Delaware.

With the sheer excitement of his team’s victory still sinking in, Joyce reflected on the legacy of Cooper, one of Duquesne’s all-time greats.

“If he was watching today, if he was paying attention, thank you, ” Joyce said, tearing up. “If he touched any one of us to have us aspire to play harder, thank you. We’re grateful for it.”

Anchored outside the building named in his memory is a historical marker recognizing the significant accomplishments of the former Duquesne All-American, Charles “Chuck” Cooper, the first African American drafted by an NBA team.

Inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Duquesne’s Senior Day, where the annual game bearing his name was renewed for the 18th time, it’s unlikely the beloved Cooper, who died in 1984, would’ve approved of what was happening to his alma mater’s team.

Until he most likely did when Dixon’s final shot was good.

“I’m just happy to have my career at Cooper Fieldhouse end in a fashion like this,” said Dixon, who was recognized prior to the game along with fellow seniors Guinyard, Edwards, Alex Williams, Cam Crawford and John Hugley IV.

“It’s been a rough four years for me,” he said, “but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

And the last second of his final play at “The Coop” will be remembered for a lifetime.

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