Complete notes in .pdf format
DUQUESNE (16-10, 6-7) at CHARLOTTE (15-12, 6-7)
Sunday, Mar. 2, 2008 • 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Halton Arena (9,105) • Charlotte, N.C.
TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
DUQUESNE INTERNET AUDIO BROADCAST: redzonemedia.com
ADDITIONAL MEDIA: Streaming video and GameTracker available at Charlotte49ers.com
The Dukes, who have ranked among the nation's leaders in scoring all season, have averaged just 62.0 ppg. during their current losing streak. Duquesne is shooting .355 from the field and .222 (14-of-63) from the 3-point arc over that span.
Charlotte, which is coming off a 75-61 loss at Temple on Wednesday, is 11-3 at home (10-2 at Halton Arena) with wins over Wake Forest, Southern Illinois, Saint Joseph's and Temple among others. Charlotte has won nearly 80 percent of its home games in 12 seasons at Halton Arena (123-34, .783).
Leemire Goldwire, who began the week as the fourth-leading scorer in the Atlantic 10, has topped the 30-point mark five times this season with a high of 39 at St. Bonaventure. He is coming off a career-low three point outing (0-of-7 from 3-point) at Temple.
Duquesne's Shawn James, who has blocked 14 shots in DU's past two games, enters the Charlotte game with 437 career rejections. The 6-10 junior needs five blocks to pass Connecticut's Emeka Okafor (8th), six to pass Fairfield's Deng Gai (7th) and eight to pass Ohio State's Ken Johnson (6th) on the NCAA Division I all-time list. James is currently tied for ninth all-time.
DU's next game is Mar. 5 at Temple.
DUQUESNE LATELY
- Duquesne's 16-10 record is its best since the 1980-81 NIT team (20-10) opened 18-8 ... DU's 16 wins are its most since 1993-94 (17-13 NIT)
- DU clinched its first winning season since `94 - and second winning season in 22 years - with its win at Dayton on 2/13
- Eight Dukes are averaging over 7.0 ppg. and 10 have at least one double-digit scoring game
- Duquesne is 1-6 in games decided by five or fewer points
- Four of DU's five road wins have been by 15+ points
- DU has lost to three teams that either are - or were - ranked by a total of 11 points: 73-68 to then No. 12 Pitt, 77-73 at Drake and 80-78 at then-No. 22 Rhode Is.
- The Dukes own wins over three teams currently first or tied for first in their league: Cal State Northridge (1st Big West), Niagara (T1st MAAC) and Robert. Morris (1st NEC)
- DU is currently ranked 3rd nationally in blocks (7.8), 5th in assists (18.4), 9th in scoring (82.3) and 14th in steals (9.5)
- Shawn James, who ranks 4th nationally in blocks per game (4.2), has more blocks (105) than nine Atlantic 10 teams (through Thursday's games).
THE SERIES
This is the sixth meeting between Duquesne and third-year Atlantic 10 member Charlotte ... the 49ers lead the series 4-1, including a 2-1 mark in games played at Charlotte ... the Dukes are 0-2 in Atlantic 10 games between the two ... on Dec. 1, 1993, Jeff Mullins' 49ers defeated John Carroll's Dukes 81-58 at Charlotte Coliseum ... later that season, Duquesne returned the favor with a 75-73 win at the Palumbo Center in the opening round of the NIT ... in December 1994 Charlotte defeated Duquesne 79-70 at the Palumbo Center to complete a home-and-home series ... two year's ago, Charlotte withstood a late DU rally to win 77-71 at Halton Arena ... Aaron Jackson had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in that game for the Dukes ... last year, Charlotte defeated the Dukes 99-90 in Pittsburgh.
A victory at Charlotte would:
- Snap a three-game Duquesne losing streak and also put an end to a three-game Charlotte series win streak.
- Be Duquesne's first win in the state of North Carolina since a 53-33 win at NC State on Jan. 14, 1937 (the Dukes have dropped 11 in a row in the Tar Heel State including a 1977 NCAA Tournament loss to VMI at Raleigh, N.C.).
- Be DU's sixth road win of the season which would be the most since 1985-86 (6-8).
OFF TARGET
Duquesne is shooting a combined .355 (61-of-172) overall and .222 (14-of-63) from the 3-point arc during its current three-game losing streak. Conversely, DU opponents have shot a combined 27-of-53 (.509) from the 3-point arc in the past three games.
LEFTOVERS FROM LA SALLE
- Duquesne missed two 3-pointers in the final 16 seconds - including Bill Clark's shot from the corner at the buzzer - as its rally from seven down with 2:56 left fell short
- Poor 3-point shooting hurt the Dukes who were 4-of-20 from the arc
- La Salle finished 10-of-24 from the arc
- Gary Tucker scored a career-high 23 points in a career-high 38 minutes for DU
- Aaron Jackson was the only other Duquesne player in double figures with 11
- Shawn James finished with seven points, seven rebounds and seven blocks ... it was his second consecutive seven-block game
- DU shot under 40 percent from the field and 24 percent from the 3-point arc for the third consecutive game (all losses)
- DU outscored La Salle 20-5 from the foul line
- The Dukes finished with 11 blocks.
JAMES CLIMBING SHOT BLOCK LIST & CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Junior forward/center Shawn James, who has had seven blocked shots in each of DU's past two games, continues to climb the NCAA Division-I list for career blocks. The 6-10 Brooklyn, N.Y. native currently ranks tied for ninth on the all-time list with 437 rejections in 80 games. He needs five blocks to pass Connecticut's Emeka Okafor to move into the eighth spot. Only two players have a higher three-year blocked shot total than James - Okafor who blocked 441 shots in 103 games and Adonal Foyle who sent back 492 shots in 87 games. Foyle ranks second on the all-time list. James, who scored 628 points in two seasons at Northeastern prior to transferring, has 338 this season.
He enters the Charlotte game needing 34 points to reach the 1,000-point career mark. DU has one 1,000-point scorer on the current roster in fifth-year grad student Kieron Achara (1,176 points).
QUICK NOTES
The Dukes have had six different leading scorers in their past seven games and, oddly enough, leading scorer Shawn James - who has averaged 10.9 ppg. over that span - has not been one of them ... seven different players have paced DU in the scoring column at least once this season and 10 different players have scored in double digits ... Duquesne has four first-year players in prominent roles in transfers Shawn James (Northeastern) & Kojo Mensah (Siena) and true freshmen Damian Saunders & Bill Clark ... the Dukes have assisted on 64.0 percent of their field goals this season ... DU leads the Atlantic 10 (and ranks fifth nationally) with an 18.4 apg. average ... do-it-all swingman Aaron Jackson is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game - with a team-high 34 offensive boards - in conference play ... Jackson is shooting .536 for the season ... the Dukes are 9-3 when Jackson scores in double figures ... Reggie Jackson, who was averaging 3.6 ppg. following the Dec. 5 Pitt game, brings an 8.1 ppg. scoring average into Sunday's game ... Jackson has handed out 70 assists (4.4 apg.) in his past 16 games, including a career-high nine vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 28 and at La Salle on Feb. 9 ... Jackson's top three scoring games have all come on the road (19 each at Bowling Green, at Rhode Island & at La Salle) ... it took Shawn James four games to break the Atlantic 10 and Duquesne records for blocks in a game (he had 12 blocks in 22 minutes in Duquesne's 92-77 win at Oakland on Nov. 20), 15 games to break the school mark for blocks in a season and 20 to post the first triple-double in school history (17-11-10 vs. Saint Joseph's) ... James' 105 blocks have shattered the school mark of 60 set (in 1991-92) and tied (in 1992-93) by Derrick Alston ... Alston played in 28 games in both `92 & `93 ... the previous A-10 individual record of 11 blocks in a game was set by Rutgers' Roy Hinson in 1982-83 and tied by UMass' Stephane Lasme three times last year ... the old Duquesne record of seven was set by Derrick Alston vs. Saint Joseph's Jan. 5, 1991 ... James broke the DU record when he rejected his eighth shot with 7:53 left in the first half at Oakland ... James' five career triple-doubles are one shy of the NCAA career record set by Drexel's Michael Anderson (1985-88) and tied by LSU's Shaquille O'Neal (1990-92) .... with his five rejections against George Washington on Jan. 26, James became the 18th player in NCAA Division I history to reach 400 for his career ... his 437 blocked shots in 80 career games currently ranks tied for 9th on the all-time NCAA Division I list ... he needs five blocks to pass Connecticut's Emeka Okafor the 8th spot on the all-time list ... James had a 20-10 double-double at Fordham before suffering a knee injury in practice on Monday, Jan. 21 that kept him in street clothes for the Jan. 23 St. Bonaventure game ... came back to score a season-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and five blocks vs. GW ... James, who leads the team with 32 dunks, is shooting an Atlantic 10-best .556 from the field ... Kojo Mensah has had streaks of 18 & 13 consecutive free throws made this season ... Mensah, who posted his fourth 20-point game with 22 on Dec. 28 vs. Robert Morris, is tied with James for the team lead in 20-point games ... Mensah had scored in double digits in five-straight games before scoring three on 1-of-8 shooting at St. Bonaventure ... bounced back with a team-high 19 vs. Saint Joe's ... missed DU's next game, at La Salle, with strep throat ... is shooting .188 from the field (6-of-32) and 1-of-7 from the 3-point arc in four games back (6.5 ppg. over that span) ... DU is 3-6 when Mensah scores in single digits and 12-2 when Mensah attempts six or more free throws ... Mensah's 144 free throw attempts are 41 more than any other DU player ... tied with Shawn James for team-high with 12 "traditional" three-point plays (basket and free throw) ... Mensah, whose scoring average was at 14.8 ppg. at the start of conference play, is averaging 9.8 ppg. in Atlantic 10 games ...is 4-of-22 from the 3-point arc in conference play ... Damian Saunders was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the third time on Dec. 30 ... he is the fifth player in school history to win the award more than twice in a season ... Saunders leads the team with 41 steals and is second on the team with a 5.3 rebounds per game average ... he is third in blocks (33) and tied for third in 3-pointers made (22-of-62, .355) ... Saunders needs one block to pass Kieron Achara for the second-most blocks ever by a DU freshman (the record of 54 was set by Derrick Alston in 1990-91) ... fellow freshman Bill Clark has hit three or more 3-pointers in a game four times ... Clark, at 6-6, ranks third on the team with a 4.4 rpg. average ... Clark, who hit at least one three in 13 of his first 15 games, ended a five-game streak without a 3-pointer (0-of-13 over that span) by going 2-of-6 from the arc vs. Richmond ... Clark scored all 15 of his points in 12 second half minutes in helping the Dukes rally from a 13-point deficit against the Spiders ... he went 1-of-4 from the arc both at Xavier and vs. La Salle ... Kieron Achara played just six minutes at Rhode Island after suffering a mild concussion and loosened tooth early in the second half ... with Shawn James on the bench in street clothes the Stirling, Scotland native - fresh off a pair of root canals done the previous day as a result of the tooth damage suffered in URI game - posted 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals in 28 minutes vs. St. Bonaventure on Jan. 23 ... Achara had his front tooth knocked out early in the second half vs. Saint Joseph's, had a root canal the next day then delivered 21 points and a career high-tying five blocks at La Salle ... is shooting .806 from the foul line ... DU is 10-2 when Achara scores in double figures ... Gary Tucker, who had 30 assists and 29 turnovers in 28 games last season, has 54 and 33 this year (1.6-1 ratio) ... he ranks second on the team with 29 3-pointers (he was 14-of-52 last season) ... is shooting .421 from the arc (16-of-38) in 11 games away from the Palumbo Center (including neutral-site game vs. Cal State Northridge) ... third on the team - at 6-1 - with 10 dunks.
CLOSE ONES
Six of the Dukes 10 losses have come by a total of 18 points: 77-73 at currently nationally ranked Drake, 73-68 to then-No. 12 (AP) Pitt, 80-78 at then-No. 22 (AP) Rhode Island, 75-74 at Fordham, 69-66 vs. Richmond and 75-72 to La Salle. The Dukes were 0-4 in single digit games before pulling out a 63-61 win at Dayton on Feb. 13.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
Duquesne, which ranked 324th of 325 NCAA Division I programs in field goal percentage defense last season (.507), held its first seven opponents under 38 percent shooting before Pitt broke the 40 percent mark by hitting 25-of-61 shots (.410) on Dec. 5. Duquesne opponents are shooting .420 in 2007-08. In 29 games last year, DU held opponents under 40 percent twice. In addition, the Dukes have blocked a school single-season record 202 shots (7.8 bpg.). Six-ten first-year transfer Shawn James, who led the NCAA in blocked shots in 2005-06 at Northeastern, leads the way with a school single season record 105 rejections followed by graduate student Kieron Achara with 40 and freshman Damian Saunders with 33. The Dukes are also averaging 9.5 steals per game. Defensive pressure and a plus-11 turnover ratio (DU turned it over just 12 times) allowed the Dukes to defeat St. Bonaventure on Jan. 23 despite shooting .397 from the field. Duquesne's .397 effort was its third-worst of the season. Entering this year, Duquesne had lost 45 consecutive games when shooting under 40 percent.
TURNING IT AROUND ON THE ROAD
When Ron Everhart accepted the head coaching position at Duquesne, he took over a program in the midst of a 13-game non-conference road losing streak dating back to December 2002. The first edition of Everhart's Dukes added four more losses to that total before ending a 17-game road skid with a 72-71 win at Saint Francis, Pa. last December. The Dukes went on to defeat Boston College in overtime in their final road non-conference road game of 2006-07. Duquesne opened the 2007-08 non-conference road schedule in impressive fashion with an 86-59 win at Rice on Nov. 17. The 27-point margin of victory was Duquesne's largest in a road game since an 87-58 win at Robert Morris on Dec. 22, 1994. It was also just the second time in the past 35 years a Duquesne team has won a road game by more than 25 points. DU followed that with a 92-77 victory at Oakland and has since added a 96-78 win at Bowling Green, a 17-point win at La Salle and 63-61 victory at Dayton. The Dukes are 10-15 on the road under Everhart. In the 11 seasons prior to Everhart's arrival, Duquesne teams went 19-116 in road games.