DUQUESNE (9-11, 5-4) at LA SALLE (9-14, 2-7)
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007 • 7:00 p.m. (EST)
Tom Gola Arena (4,000) • Philadelphia, Pa.
TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.RedZoneMedia.com
Complete Release in PDF Format
  Download Free Acrobat Reader
DUKES TAKE FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK TO LA SALLE
Duquesne (9-11, 5-4), which set a new school road scoring record in a 111-92 win at St. Bonaventure on Saturday, brings a four-game win streak to La Salle for a rematch with the Explorers on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m. (EST) (KQV radio 1410 AM and on the internet at www.RedZoneMedia.com).
The Dukes, who have won four consecutive league games for the first time since 1987-88, are looking to extend that streak against a La Salle team that defeated DU 79-63 in Pittsburgh on Jan. 10. Duquesne has been getting it done in a number of ways: they rallied from double-digit second-half deficits to defeat both Dayton (down 10 with just over 11 minutes left) and Temple (trailing by 12 with 11:55 to go) and survived a 19-point Xavier second-half comeback to defeat the Musketeers. In the only win that didn't come down to the wire, the Dukes posted their largest margin of victory ever in an A-10 road game at St. Bonaventure (+19). In the process, the 2006-07 Dukes became the first team in school history to score 90 or more in four consecutive games.
Since adopting a 94-foot pressing style of play following back-to-back home losses to La Salle and Fordham, the Dukes have seen their point production skyrocket and opponent turnovers jump by over eight per game:
TO's
PPG. 3M 3AT FORCED
First 15 g. 68.6 6.3 20.8 14.5
Last 5 g. 96.0 11.2 30.0 22.8
Difference +27.4 +4.9 +9.2 +8.3
DUQUESNE LATELY
- Duquesne, which began the season with seven scholarship players, is currently competing with eight ... of the 10 total players on the current active roster, just one is over 6-6 (6-10 junior Kieron Achara)
- With the indefinite loss of 6-9 F/C Almamy Thiero (blood clots in lungs), head coach Ron Everhart unveiled a "1040" version of the Dukes on Jan. 21 at UMass with 10 players combining for 40 minutes of uptempo basketball ... each player in the 10-man group is averaging at least 15.2 min./g in the past five games as Everhart has substituted a total of 310 times (62 subs/g.) - including entire five-man units 47 times
- The Dukes have forced 114 turnovers (22.8/g.), averaged 96.0 ppg. and gone 4-1 since the change in style ... in the process, the 2006-07 Dukes have become the first team in school history to put together four-straight 90-point games
- DU is looking for its first five-game winning streak (all games) since 1985-86 ... a victory would also match the school record for consecutive conference wins (5) set in 1980-81 ... the `81 Dukes tied for first in the Eastern 8 with a 10-3 record (20-10 overall) on the way to an appearance in the NIT.
DUKES AND EXPLORERS
La Salle leads the overall series 34-25, including a 22-6 advantage in games played at Philadelphia ... in Atlantic 10 regular-season play, the Explorers lead 15-8 ... Duquesne snapped a six-game La Salle series win streak and 12-game at La Salle losing streak with a 72-67 victory at Philadelphia two years ago ... the win at Tom Gola Arena was DU's first at La Salle since Jan. 20, 1979 ... the victory also ended a streak of 26 consecutive losses for Duquesne in the City of Brotherly Love dating back to 1995 (includes games at La Salle, Temple, Saint Joseph's and the Atlantic 10 Tournament) ... DU followed the Philly win with a 77-72 home victory to complete its first A-10 series sweep of the Explorers ... La Salle returned the favor by sweeping the Dukes last season ... La Salle, who has won 11 of the past 14 meetings, defeated the Dukes 79-63 at the Palumbo Center on Jan. 10.
40 MINUTES OF HEAVEN
Since adopting its new style of play prior to the Jan. 21 game at Massachusetts, the Dukes have compiled a laundry list of accomplishments:
This is the first Duquesne team to ever score 90 or more points in four consecutive games.
Swept Dayton, Temple & Xavier in the same season for the first time in school history.
Posted the highest point total by a Duquesne team in the 48-game series versus Temple (96-92). Prior to the Jan. 27 win, DU had only topped 80 once versus the Owls.
Set a new road scoring record in a 111-92 win at St. Bonaventure. The previous record for points in a road game was in a 109-66 win at Geneva on Feb. 18, 1953. The 111 points is the most ever scored by either team in the 96-game series. It is also the second highest point total in the 40-plus year history of St. Bonaventure's Reilly Center (only No. 3 (AP) Saint Joseph's scored more in a 114-63 victory at SBU on Jan. 24, 2004).
The 111 points at St. Bonaventure, in addition to being DU's highest point total in 19 years, was Duquesne's first 100-point game in 10 years (the last coming in a 102-92 win over Radford on Jan. 4, 1997) it is also the most points scored by an A-10 team this season.
The 19-point margin of victory at St. Bonaventure eclipsed a 17-point win (72-55) at Rhode Island on Jan. 21, 2004 as the largest margin of victory ever by a Duquesne team in an Atlantic 10 road game.
CHASING .500
Duquesne, which enters the La Salle game with a 5-4 Atlantic 10 record, has not been above .500 this late in the conference season since 1993-94. The `94 NIT Dukes were 5-4, 6-5, 7-5, 7-6, 8-6 and 8-7 on the way to finishing 8-8. The last DU team to post a winning A-10 mark was John Carroll's 1990-91 Dukes which opened 4-6 before rallying to finish 10-8.
COMEBACK KIDS
Duquesne has erased double-digit deficits in five of its nine wins - including three on the road. The Dukes were down 14 (34-20) with 6:00 left in the first half in the 72-71 win at Saint Francis, Pa. DU trailed Boston College by 10 (75-65) with 4:43 left in regulation in the 98-93 overtime road victory and erased a 14-point first half deficit (32-18 with 5:57 left) in the 73-63 win at Saint Louis:
OPPONENT DEFICIT SCORE TIME RESULT SCORE
at Saint Francis, Pa. -14 34-20 6:00 (1st) W 72-71
at Boston College -10 75-65 4:43 (2nd) W 98-93 (OT)
at Saint Louis -14 32-18 5:57 (1st) W 73-63
Dayton -10 70-60 11:07 (2nd) W 93-89
Temple -12 68-56 11:55 (2nd) W 96-92
NUMBERS
DU is 6-0 when leading at the half, 5-0 when scoring 90 or more and 4-1 when forcing 20 or more opponent turnovers.
NEW FACE(S)
This is the first season at Duquesne for head coach Ron Everhart who was hired on March 29. Everhart, in his 13th season as a head coach (183-183, .500), turned around programs at McNeese State and Northeastern prior to accepting the Duquesne job. Everhart inherited a Duquesne program that is coming off a 3-24 season (ranked 308 in the final RPI). Of the 334 programs that competed at the Division I level last season only two - Savannah State at 2-28 and Jacksonville at 1-26 - had fewer wins than Duquesne. Everhart brought his entire Northeastern coaching staff to the Bluff: assistant coaches Kim Lewis, Richard Pitino and Daryn Freedman along with director of basketball operations Anthony Serro. In addition to the new staff, Everhart also retooled the DU roster, bringing in a total of 15 new players (including transfers and preferred walk-ons) in his first five months on the job. To take it even further, Duquesne has a new athletic trainer (Vic Bauer) and two new student managers meaning the only two people on the bench that were here last year are sophomore Aaron Jackson and junior Kieron Achara. Jackson and Achara played a total of three games together last year prior to a season-ending shoulder injury to Achara.
QUICK NOTES
Every player on the active roster (including five true freshmen) has started at least one time ... every player is also averaging at least 15.2 minutes since the Dukes adopted a pressing, uptempo style of play prior to the Jan. 21 UMass game (a five-game span) ... all 10 players have scored in each of the past three games ... nine of the 10 hit at least one 3-pointer in the win at St. Bonaventure ... DU, who earlier this season scored 12 points in a half (the first half at Saint Joseph's on Jan. 3), has scored 50 in a half five times in the past five games ... DU, which has 319 team assists and 308 turnovers, has assisted on 58.4 percent of its field goals ... Duquesne has seen its 3-point attempts jump from 20.8 in its first 15 games to 30.0 in its past five ... the Dukes are 56-of-150 (37.3%) from the 3-point arc in their past five games after shooting 30.1 percent in their first 15 ... Duquesne began the week first in the Atlantic 10 in free throw percentage (.748), tied for first in assists (15.95 apg.), third in steals (7.4), fourth in turnover margin and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio ... nine different Dukes have scored in double digits at least once ... Jimmy Sherwood, who scored a season-high seven at St. Bonaventure, is the last member of the active roster who has yet to reach double-digits in a game ... Robert Mitchell (10 times), Kieron Achara (three times), Scott Grote & Aaron Jackson (twice each) and Reggie Jackson have all topped the 20-point mark.
#1 - AARON JACKSON: Aaron Jackson, who led all Atlantic 10 returnees with a 1.73-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season, has a team-high 79 assists this year ... his 1.72-to-1 ratio ranks fifth, his 3.95 assists per game fourth and 1.65 steals fifth in the A-10 ... Jackson, who averaged 3.2 rebounds per game last season, posted double-doubles in DU's first two games (12-11 vs. Youngstown State & 15-10 vs. UNC Asheville) ... he had five games with five or more rebounds in 27 outings last year, he has 10 in 20 games this season ... he has led DU in rebounding a team-high eight times and in assists a team-best 12 times ... Jackson, who splits time at both guard spots, leads the team with 48 offensive boards, including a spectacular put-back dunk at Boston College ... the Hartford, Conn. native put together one of the top stat lines by an A-10 player this season with 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a career-high five steals at Saint Francis, Pa. ... he was named A-10 co-Player of the Week (Dec. 24) for his effort ... he followed that with 19 points and seven rebounds in DU's 98-93 OT win at Boston College to earn A-10 POW honors for the second consecutive week ... in the process, he became just the seventh player in school history to win conference Player of the Week honors twice in one season ... Jackson topped the 20-point mark for the second time this season (and second time of his career) with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the win over Temple ... he added seven rebounds and six assists vs. the Owls ... Jackson scored a career-high 22 vs. Northern Illinois (9-of-11 from the field) on Nov. 20 ... he is 19-of-24 from the field (79.2%) in his past three games.
#2 - KIERON ACHARA: Six-ten junior forward/center Kieron Achara, who was diagnosed with three stress fractures in his left foot on Nov. 10, discarded the protective boot he wore for three weeks on Dec. 2 ... he began practicing on Monday, Dec. 4 and made an unexpected return at Pitt (18 minutes) two days later ... it was his first game action since Dec. 3, 2005 vs. Robert Morris (he played in just three games last season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder ... he had season-ending surgery last Dec. 15) ... Achara made his first start on Dec. 9 vs. West Virginia and went 6-of-6 from the field in scoring 15 points in 25 minutes and followed that by scoring 13 of his 17 points in the second half (8-of-12 from the field) at Niagara ... he topped both outings by hitting a game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key with 0:00 left to give the Dukes a 72-71 win at Saint Francis, Pa. on Dec. 22 ... Achara finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds ... he also went 2-of-4 from the 3-point arc against the Red Flash ... Achara entered the Saint Francis game 1-of-14 from the arc for his career ... he added 17 points in 29 minutes before fouling out at Boston College ... played a key role in limiting SLU 6-10, 270-pound center Ian Vouyoukas to six points and seven field goal attempts in 34 minutes in a 73-63 win at SLU ... went 3-of-7 from the 3-point arc in scoring 17 at UMass ... blocked four shots, including a big rejection of a Brian Roberts shot with under 10 seconds left, in the 93-89 win over Dayton ... tied his career high with 22 points (7-of-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line) in 26 minutes vs. Temple ... his two free throws with 38 seconds left gave the Dukes the lead for good against the Owls ... posted his first double-double of the season (an tenth of his career) with a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes at St. Bonavneture ... Achara's 111 career blocks rank second on DU's all-time list ... his .536 field goal percentage (261-of-487) ranks fourth all-time.
#3 - REGGIE JACKSON: Point guard Reggie Jackson hit 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc in scoring a career-high 22 points in 26 minutes at UMass ... added 14 in 21 minutes - including four clutch free throws in the final nine seconds - versus Temple ... hit 5-of-8 from the floor (3-of-5 from 3-point) in scoring 13 points at Saint Louis ... he scored DU's first eight points of the second half to pull the Dukes within two in what became a 73-63 win ... added four assists and seven steals against the Billikens ... the seven steals, which were the most by a DU player since Mike James had seven vs. La Salle on Jan. 31, 1998, tied the second-highest single game total in school history ... had a solid game in the win at Boston College with six points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals ... is 8-of-15 from the 3-point arc in his past five games ... Duquesne is 6-1 when Jackson scores in double digits.
#23 - ROBERT MITCHELL: Freshman Robert Mitchell has been named A-10 Rookie of the Week a league-high - and Duquesne school record - five times ... saw his streak of 12 consecutive games played ended when he was held out of the Saint Louis game for not being "accountable to himself and his teammates in practice," according to head coach Ron Everhart ... has scored 20 or more in four of seven games since ... saw the streak of three consecutive 20-point game ended with 10 in the win over Temple before bouncing back to score 26 - including 19 in 11 first-half minutes - against Xavier ... was 4-of-4 from the 3-point arc vs. the Musketeers ... Mitchell, who has scored in double digits in 18 of 19 games, had 10 or more in his first nine collegiate games before being held to seven in 33 minutes at Saint Francis ... has topped the 20-point mark a team-high 10 times ... his 29 points at Robert Morris on Dec. 2 is the fourth-highest total ever by a Duquesne freshman ... has attempted fewer than 10 shots in a game just once (4-of-8 on Jan. 3 at Saint Joe's) ... scored 17 of his team-high 24 in the second half to help the Dukes erase a 10-point deficit in a 93-89 win over Dayton on Jan. 24 ... is one of two A-10 freshmen leading his team in scoring ... Richmond's Dan Geriot (11.4 ppg.) is the other.
#30 - SCOTT GROTE: Scott Grote (Grote-EE) scored 14 of his game high-tying 23 points in the second half to help the Dukes rally from an eight-point deficit to defeat Youngstown State 81-75 in the season opener ... his 23 points tied for third-most by a Duquesne player in his first varsity game ... Grote, who missed four free throws in the final 43 seconds, was three shy of tying the record of 26 set by Tom Pipkins versus Robert Morris in the 1993-94 opener ... as one of three freshman starters in the season opener vs. YSU, Grote added nine rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes ... he converted two game-deciding free throws with 1.3 seconds left and intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass to give the Dukes a 77-76 win over UNC Asheville on Nov. 18 ... he also hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left to force overtime in a 98-93 win at Boston College ... Grote scored 17 of his 19 after the half in helping the Dukes to the school's first-ever win in an Atlantic Coast Conference arena and earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors ... Grote, who hit 13 of his first 29 3-point attempts (44.8%) to open the season, is 11-of-55 since (20.0%) ... had one of his better floor games with five assists and one turnover in 31 minutes at Saint Louis ... has scored in double digits in three of DU's past four games ... had 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 25 minutes versus Xavier and 11 points and six boards in 19 minutes at St. Bonaventure ... the SBU game was his first with more than one 3-pointer (2-of-5) since Dec. 2 at RMU (3-of-4).
OTHERS: Sophomore guard #20 Phillip Fayne has eight starts, including four of the first five games of the season ... scored eight points and handed out four assists in 26 minutes in a start at Saint Louis ... also started against La Salle before the Dukes adopted their new playing style ... scored in double digits in each of the first two games of the season (11 vs. Youngstown State & 10 vs. UNC Asheville) ... #22 Gary Tucker is averaging 9.8 ppg. and shooting 62.1 percent from the field (18-of-29) in five games since Duquesne changed its playing style ... he has scored in double digits three times in five games since the change (compared to three times in his first 14 games)... scored a season-high 17 points (7-of-10) in 22 minutes against Xavier and had 14 on 6-of-6 shooting at St. Bonaventure in DU's past two games ... his previous high game was 11 on three occasions (vs. Northern Illinois, at Robert Morris and vs. Dayton) ... hit 5-of-6 free throws - all in the final 5:16 - of DU's come-from-behind win at Saint Louis ... went 4-of-6 from the field in scoring 10 points vs. Fordham .... it was his first double-digit scoring game since Dec. 2 at Robert Morris ... added four assists and four steals to go along with the 11 points in 14 minutes versus Dayton ... finished the UD game 6-of-6 from the line ... owner of a pair of acrobatic three-point plays on alley-oop dunks (vs. Dayton and at St. Bonaventure) ... freshman walk ons #43 Jason Duty and #4 Jimmy Sherwood made their first career starts at UMass ... Duty, who had played in six games (two A-10) prior to UMass, scored seven points in 18 minutes vs. the Minutemen ... Sherwood, who played a total of two minutes in two games prior to UMass, grabbed a rebound in 11 minutes of action ... he scored his first four career points in 17 minutes vs. Dayton and added three rebounds in 16 minutes versus Temple ... he topped both with seven points (including his first career 3-pointer) and five boards in 17 minutes at St. Bonaventure ... Sherwood and Duty combined for a key play in the win over Dayton ... with the Dukes down one with a minute left, Sherwood deflected a UD inbounds pass that was scooped up by Duty who was fouled and converted a pair of free throws to give DU its first lead since the 15 minute mark ... Duty keyed a late-game eight-point comeback by hitting a clutch 3-pointer to pull the Dukes within two with 2:46 left ... Duty has emerged as one of the Dukes most consistent shooters ... he is shooting 44.0 percent from the 3-point arc (11-of-24).
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS VS. LA SALLE
U>
# P Name HT Cl Pts Reb G/GS Hometown
23 F Robert Mitchell 6-6 Fr. 18.1 5.2 19/14 Brooklyn, N.Y.
School record five-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week
30 F Scott Grote 6-6 Fr. 10.4 4.1 20/16 Centerville, Ohio
Averaging 12.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg. in last two games
20 G Phillip Fayne 6-2 So. 5.0 1.7 20/ 8 Carbondale, Ill.
One of four players to see action in all 20 games
22 G Gary Tucker 6-0 Jr. 5.9 1.7 19/ 5 Pensacola, Fla.
Career-high 17 points vs. Xavier (7-of-10)
3 G Reggie Jackson 5-10 Jr. 6.6 1.4 20/13 Hogansville, Ga.
11 assists and four turnovers in past two games
--- OR ---
4 F Jimmy Sherwood 6-1 Fr. 2.1 1.9 7/ 3 Sharon, Mass.
Played a total of two minutes in DU's first 15 games
31 F Stephen Wood 6-3 Fr. 4.4 1.4 18/ 8 S. Jamaica Queens, N.Y.
Has 17 points in past three games
2 C Kieron Achara 6-10 Jr. 14.4 6.1 14/11 Stirling, Scotland
Career-high 25 points & 11 boards in 22 min. at SBU
43 G Jason Duty 5-11 Fr. 4.3 0.5 11/ 3 Cranberry, Twp., Pa.
Late add walk-on; shooting 44.0% from 3-point arc
1 G Aaron Jackson 6-2 So. 11.9 4.8 20/18 Hartford, Conn.
Team leader in assists, steals and minutes played
|