Nov. 29, 2002
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DUQUESNE (1-2) at (#11 AP& ESPN) MARYLAND (2-0)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 2002 - 8:00 p.m. (EST) - College Park, Md.
Comcast Center (17,950)
TELEVISION: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot (ACC viewing area only) - Mike Hogewood & Eddie Fogler
RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) - Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com
DUQUESNE at GEORGE MASON (0-2*)
* - George Mason hosts Mississippi on Saturday
Monday, Dec. 2, 2002 - 7:00 p.m. (EST) - Fairfax, Va.
Patriot Center (10,000)
RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) - Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com
DUKES HIT ROAD FOR TWO-GAME TRIP
Duquesne leaves the city of Pittsburgh for the first time this season for a two-game trip to the greater Washington D.C. area to face defending national champion Maryland and George Mason. The Dukes, who are coming off a 74-67 home loss to Cleveland State on Wednesday will be completing a season-opening stretch of five games in 10 days with the trip south.
DU opened the season with an 82-67 loss at then-No. 5 (AP) Pittsburgh on Nov. 23, before returning home to defeat West Virginia 86-82 on Nov. 25. Maryland has yet to leave the confines of its brand new 17,950-seat Comcast Center. The Terps own victories over Miami, Ohio (64-49) and The Citadel (97-49).
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS AT PITTSBURGH
| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 4 | F | Elijah Palmer | 6-7 | Jr. | 7.3 | 6.0 | Marshall, Mo. | JC transfer has led DU in rebounding twice in three games |
| 14 | F | Simplice Njoya | 6-10 | So. | 9.0 | 4.7 | Yaound?, Cameroon | Has scored in double digits in 7 of his 12 games played at Duquesne |
| 41 | C | Ron Dokes | 6-9 | Jr. | 16.0 | 5.0 | South Bend, Ind. | JC transfer scored 29 (8-11 from field) vs. West Virginia on Nov. 25 |
| 44 | G | Jimmy Tricco | 6-8 | Jr. | 14.7 | 4.7 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Gonzaga transfer hit five three's (career-high 17 pts.) vs. Cleveland State |
| 20 | G | Kevin Forney | 6-4 | Sr. | 10.3 | 2.0 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Team-high 47 career starts; shooting 50% from the arc (3-of-6) & field (12-0f-24) |
Off the bench| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 21 | F | Brad Midgley | 6-5 | Sr. | 10.3 | 3.3 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Team-high 89 games played; 13 points off bench at Pitt & vs. Cleve. St. |
| 22 | G | Bryant McAllister | 6-3 | Fr. | 4.3 | 1.7 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | True freshman point guard averaging 14 minutes per game |
| 42 | F/C | Chris Clark | 6-10 | Sr. | 0.7 | 2.3 | Toronto, Ontario | Second on team to Forney with 24 career starts; had season high 4 rebounds in nine minutes vs. Cleve. St. |
| 32 | G | Tyler Bluemling | 6-2 | So. | 0.0 | 1.0 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Played in all 28 games last season; team high 3 steals in 8 min. at Pittsburgh |
| 1 | G | Aly Samabaly | 6-3 | So. | 0.0 | 0.0 | Bamako, Mali | Saw action in 23 games as a freshman; saw first action of season vs. CSU |
DUQUESNE LATELY
- DU is led by a trio of first-year transfers: G Jimmy Tricco (Gonzaga), F Elijah Palmer (Kennedy-King JC) and F/C Ron Dokes (Lincoln Trial JC)
- Tricco (14.7, 4.7), Palmer (7.3, 6.0) and Dokes (16.0, 5.0), who are all juniors, have accounted for just over 50 percent of Duquesne's points and nearly 50 percent of the team's rebounds
- Tricco is coming off a career-high 17 points (5-of-10 three-pointers) vs. Cleveland State
- Ssixth man Brad Midgley continued his solid play with 13 points off the bench vs. CSU
- Midgley has 10 assists and one turnover in his last two games
- Six different DU players have scored in double figures in the first three games
- DU completed a tough stretch of three games in five days vs. Cleveland State.
TWO ROAD GAMES ... TWO NEW ARENAS
Duquesne, who helped christen the University of Pittsburgh's new $100 million, 12,508-seat Petersen Events Center in the season opener on Nov. 23, will be making its second straight appearance in a brand new building. Maryland opened its new Comcast Center (capacity 17,950) on Nov. 22 vs. Miami (Ohio). This will be the third game in the new arena.
DEJA VU?
The last time Duquesne traveled to Maryland was on Nov. 23, 1998. That day the Dukes faced the #6 (AP) Terps in the fourth game of the season. This year, DU will take on #11 (AP) Maryland ... in the fourth game of the season.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
Okay, the last note wasn't all that impressive, but this is one would make Mr. Ripley proud. The Duquesne/Maryland matchup will be the 2,005th game ever for both schools: Duquesne, in its 87th season, is 1,178-826 (.588); Maryland, in season No. 80 is 1,189-815 (.593).
THE MARYLAND SERIES
Duquesne and Maryland met for the first time on Feb. 9, 1972 at College Park in the first of a four-year, home-and-home series. The Terps won that game by an 85-71 count. Following the four-game series which ended in 1975, the two resumed play with a two-game home-and-home series in 1982-83 and 1983-84. The two renewed the series after a 15-year break at Cole Field House in 1998-99.
Maryland leads the all-time series 7-0. This will be the sixth time in eight meetings that the Dukes will face a nationally ranked Maryland team.
DANNY NEE VS. MARYLAND
This is just the second time Duquesne head coach Danny Nee has faced Maryland, with the first matchup coming during Nee's second season as a head coach. On Dec. 19, 1981, Nee's Ohio University Bobcats dropped a 90-64 decision to Lefty Driesell's Terps at Cole Field House. This will be the first meeting between Danny Nee and Gary Williams-coached teams.
TERP STREAK(S)
Maryland takes an 86-game non-conference home win streak into the Duquesne game. The streak, which is the longest in the country, spans over 12 years. The streak began on Dec. 30, 1989 against Alcorn State. The Terps' last non-league home defeat was on Dec. 12, 1989 vs. Coppin State. Maryland has won 19 straight home games. That streak is the eighth-longest in the country.
IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
Duquesne is 147-160 (.479) in non-conference play since 1976-77 as members of the Eastern 8/Atlantic 10 and Midwestern Collegiate Conference (1992-93 season only). The Dukes posted a winning record in non-conference play four times in the 1990s (6-4 in 1996, 8-4 in 1994, 7-5 in 1993 and 7-4 in 1992). The Dukes went 5-6 in non-conference play in 2001-02 and are 1-2 this season.
VERSUS AP RANKED TEAMS
No. 11 (AP) is the second ranked opponent for the Dukes this season. In the opener on Nov. 23, No. 5 (AP) Pittsburgh handed the Dukes an 82-67 defeat at the Panthers' Petersen Events Center. Duquesne University is 10-48 on the road vs. AP ranked teams since the advent of the poll in 1948-49. Duquesne's last win over a ranked team came on Jan. 25, 1997 when the Dukes defeated No. 16 Xavier 78-70 at Cinicnnati Gardens (a span of 10 games). DU's last win over a Top 10 team was on Dec. 15, 1992 vs. Florida State 91-84 at the Palumbo Center.
ON THE ROAD
Duquesne went 2-11 on the road last season (not including a neutral-site loss to Pitt). The Dukes snapped a 22-game road losing streak with a 68-61 win at West Virginia, and a 20-game Atlantic 10 road skid with a 72-69 win at Rhode Island. The Dukes showed marked improvement on the road in league play with a 96-89 overtime loss at St. Bonaventure and a 55-51 defeat at Richmond. Duquesne led St. Bonaventure 76-70 with 1:48 left, and held a 51-50 lead at the 1:33 mark at Richmond. DU is 0-1 on the road this season.
NEE SUPERSIZING IT
Last year, Duquesne head coach Danny Nee entered the season with a roster that featured just three scholarship players over 210 pounds in centers Chris Clark (6-10, 230) & Simplice Njoya (6-10, 225) and departed senior forward Wayne Smith (6-7, 220). Throw in the fact that Clark wasn't eligible until mid-December (academics), and Njoya was sidelined by a 19-game NCAA-imposed suspension, and the Dukes often found themselves severely undersized. Nee and his staff addressed the lack of bulk by adding newcomers Derek Ahern (C, 6-11, 260), Ron Dokes (F/C, 6-9, 240) and Elijah Palmer (G/F, 6-7, 215) for 2002-03. When you add Gonzaga transfer Jimmy Tricco (G, 6-8, 200) and freshman point guard Bryant McAllister (G, 6-3, 185) - all but Ahearn has been an immediate contributor - the average size of DU's five scholarship newcomers comes out to 6-7.5, 220-pounds.
NEW FACES MAKING AN IMPACT
The transfer trio of Jimmy Tricco (Gonzaga), Ron Dokes (Lincoln Trail JC) and Elijah Palmer (Kennedy-King JC) has made an immediate impact on the 2002-03 Dukes. The threesome, which has started every game this season, is averaging a combined 38.0 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. Tricco, a 6-8 shooting guard, tied for the team lead in scoring in the season-opener with 13 vs. Pitt and led the team with 17 vs. Cleveland State. Dokes, a 6-9, 240-pound forward/center posted a game-high 29 vs. West Virginia. The 6-7 Palmer led the Dukes in rebounding with eight in each vs. Big East foes Pitt and West Virginia.
DUKES VS GEORGE MASON
This will be the second meeting between Duquesne and George Mason University. Last year the Dukes defeated the Patriots 64-48 at the Palumbo Center. GMU, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, is located in Fairfax, Va. The Patriots return four starters and eight lettermen from last year's 19-10 NIT squad.
George Mason is coached by Jim Larranaga who is in his 6th season at GMU and 19th season overall He has guided the Patriots to 19, 19, 18 and 19 wins in the last four seasons. Danny Nee and Larranaga coached a total of 488 games in 17 combined seasons in the Mid-American Conference - Nee in six seasons at Ohio and Larranaga in 11 campaigns at Bowling Green. Despite coaching in the same league in the 1980s, Nee and Larranaga missed each other by one season. Nee coached at OU from 1980-81 through 1985-86, while Larranaga served as head coach at BGSU from 1986-87 through 1996-97. This is the second meeting between Nee and Larranaga who both won Coach of the Year honors while in the MAC.
MORE ON MASON:
George Mason opened the season with road losses at Central Michigan (61-58) and at Southern Illinois (83-74) prior to hosting Mississippi on Nov. 30. The Patriots, who return four starters from last year's 19-10 NIT team, were picked to finish second in the 10-team Colonial Athletic Association in a preseason poll of league media. Six-ten senior forward Jesse Young was a preseason all-conference pick. Young, who averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season, scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Mason's first two games. He posted a double-double (11-13) at Duquesne last year. Six-five Mark Davis, who played at Palm Beach CC last season (the same school as Duquesne's Derek Ahern), has gotten off to a hot start with a team-high 46 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals in his first two games as a Patriot.
