Maximus Edwards broke out of a season-long shooting slump for Duquesne in a big way Wednesday night.

Edwards came off the bench to convert his first six shots and finished with a season-high 22 points against his former school as Duquesne defeated George Washington, 73-65, in Washington, D.C.. It was the surging Dukes’ sixth victory in their past seven games.

The 6-foot-5 Edwards, a redshirt junior who entered the night shooting 36.4% overall but only 19.1 (9 for 47) from 3-point range, was 8 of 10 overall and 3 for 5 from behind the arc in 17 minutes.

He also converted all three of his free-throw attempts and added four steals.

“Obviously, this season has not been what I planned individually,” Edwards said. “But my coaches and the players believe in me. I’ve been in the gym every day, and they know this game is personal for me.”

Edwards transferred to Duquesne in the offseason after spending his first two years at George Washington, where he was voted the 2023 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.

“It’s not easy to go back to a place where you played at before,” Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III said. “There’s a lot of pressure sometimes involved. People you love. Whatever the reasons may be, man. Tremendous effort from Max Edwards tonight. Fantastic. I’m glad he was able to perform well back here in D.C. He carried us. His scoring kept us alive, especially in the first half, increasing that lead.”

Tre Dinkins III added 12 points for Duquesne (8-9, 3-1 A-10), which was in front by 15 points at halftime but nearly lost its advantage in the second half, when George Washington (13-4, 2-2) used a 13-2 run to pull within 62-61.

But Duquesne scored five in a row to go up 67-61 on a tip-in by David Dixon, who notched five of Duquesne’s 12 blocks.

It was George Washington’s first home loss in 10 games at Smith Center this season. Duquesne gained its first true road victory in three tries. The Dukes are 2-3 on neutral courts.

“All around, I loved how we played, how we competed tonight,” Joyce said. “A great road win. We played together. We played extremely hard. It’s definitely tough to win on the road. We hit some adversity, but we stayed together and I love to see that because I know we’re continuing to grow. Just some fantastic efforts.”

Rafael Castro led George Washington with 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Trey Autry and Gerald Drumgoole Jr. added 10 points apiece.

Castro’s apparent basket on a goaltending call against Dixon was nullified after an official’s review with 58 seconds remaining and Duquesne leading 67-64.

“Their presence at the rim really affected us, and on the backboard, as well,” George Washington coach Chris Caputo said.

Duquesne made 10 of 27 3-pointers (37.0%) — 7 of 14 in the first half — and held a 37-35 edge off the glass with Cam Crawford’s six leading the way for the Dukes, who return home Saturday to play St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m. at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

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