By Malcolm Price
1/20/2025
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Redshirt junior guard Maximus Edwards of the Duquesne University men’s basketball team was named the Under Armour Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Monday. He shares the honor with Rahsool Diggins of Massachusetts.
In a pair of wins last week for the Dukes, Edwards averaged 19.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals while converting 77.8 percent (14-for-18) of his shots from the field, including 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from beyond the arc. He was also perfect at the free-throw line in three attempts.
In a 73-65 victory at George Washington (Jan. 15), Edwards came off the bench and supplied a season-high 22 points to lead Duquesne, including 16 in the first half. He scored 13 consecutive points as part of a 16-4 run that turned a 14-10 deficit into a 26-18 advantage against the Revolutionaries. Edwards also tied a career high with four steals at GW and shot 8-for-10 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep.
Three days later in a 75-57 win over St. Bonaventure (Jan. 18) at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Edwards again paced the Dukes off the bench, scoring 17 points while adding four rebounds, an assist and a block. He connected for a three-pointer on consecutive possessions in the first half that was part of a 14-2 burst against the Bonnies that helped Duquesne open up a 25-12 lead.
Overall this season, Edwards is providing the Dukes with an average of 7.7 points per game, an average that jumps to 10.6 ppg against Atlantic 10 foes. In five games against conference opposition, Edwards is shooting 69 percent (22-for-29) from the field, including 55.6 percent (10-for-19) from deep. Against A-10 opponents, Edwards leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage while ranking second in field goal percentage, trailing only junior teammate David Dixon (72.4%).
Edwards is the first member of the Dukes to be named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week since former guard Leon Ayers III (2021-22) was honored Nov. 29, 2021, as well as the first Duquesne player to be bestowed the plaudit during conference play since Marcus Weathers (2018-21) Feb. 1, 2021. Edwards, a native of Stratford, Conn., and in his first season at Duquesne, was a five-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honoree during the 2022-23 season at George Washington en route to being named the 2023 A-10 Rookie of the Year.
Led by head coach Dru Joyce III, Duquesne has won three consecutive games, seven of its last eight and nine of its last 12 to even its overall record during the 2024-25 season at 9-9 (.500), including 4-1 (.800) in the Atlantic 10. The Dukes sit in a tie for second place in the league standings with VCU and Saint Louis, a half game behind George Mason (5-1).
Duquesne closes out a two-game homestand at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Tuesday, Jan. 21, with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Dayton.
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