Jan. 2, 2003

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DUKES TIPOFF ATLANTIC 10 SEASON AT SAINT JOSEPH'S

Duquesne, winner of five of its last seven games, heads to Philadelphia to begin the Atlantic 10 Conference season at Saint Joseph's (8-1, 0-0) on Sunday, Jan. 5 (game time 4:00 p.m. - internet broadcast only at www.redzonemedia.com).

The Dukes, who began the season 1-5, are looking to build on a three-game winning streak that includes the FIU New Years Classic title (over St. Francis, N.Y. and host Florida International) and a New Year's Eve win at home over Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Saint Joseph's, the early-season surprise of the Atlantic 10, began the season 7-0 before dropping a 62-50 decision at Pacific on Dec. 28. The Hawks rebounded nicely by ending Gonzaga's 29-game home win streak with a 79-78 overtime win at Spokane, Wash. on New Year's Eve. Duquesne has been working overtime as well, having needed an extra period to defeat both FIU and Maryland-Eastern Shore.

NO SHORT CUTS

The month of January will come in like a lion and go out like, well ... a lion for the 2002-03 Dukes, as DU has perhaps the toughest league-opening schedule of any Atlantic 10 school.

In the month of January, Duquesne will face the six A-10 schools that made post-season appearances last year a total of seven times in succession beginning at Saint Joseph's (NIT). Here is the rest of the January slate: Temple (NIT), at Dayton (NIT), Richmond (NIT), at Xavier (NCAA), St. Bonaventure (NIT) and Richmond again on the road.

All totaled, the Dukes will play three at home and four on the road in the month of January against the league's best.

DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS

DUQUESNE LATELY

• JC transfer F Elijah Palmer, whose scoring average stood at 5.2 ppg. through DU's first 10 games, has caught fire scoring 18, 17 & 16 points in DU's last three games to raise his scoring average to 8.2 ppg. Palmer is shooting 61.7% from the field (21-34) over the three-game span.

• DU's opponents are shooting 39.5 percent from the field (155-392) and 30.3 percent (44-145) from the 3-point arc over the last 7 games. The Dukes are 5-2 over that span.

• Freshman PG Bryant McAllister is averaging 10.7 ppg. and has scored in double digits four times since joining the starting lineup prior to the San Juan Shootout (a span of 6 games)

• Senior G Kevin Forney is averaging 13.8 ppg. since making the move from point to shooting guard (last 6 games)

• The last time Duquesne won four in a row was during the 1999-00 season with wins over Rice, Delaware State, La Salle and George Washington.

DUKES vs. HAWKS

This is the 38th meeting in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1938. Saint Joseph's holds a 28-9 series edge, including a 15-1 mark vs. the Dukes at Philadelphia. The Hawks have won the last five meetings and 11 of the last 12.

DU's last win came at the Palumbo Center on Jan. 17, 1998 (88-77). Duquesne's lone win vs. the Hawks at Philadelphia was on Feb. 15, 1992 (77-74. Since then SJU has won five in a row vs. DU at Alumni Fieldhouse.

IN ATLANTIC 10 OPENERS

Duquesne is 14-11 in Atlantic 10 openers, including a 4-7 mark when opening the A-10 season on the road. The Dukes have won five of their last nine A-10 opening games. This is DU's 26th Atlantic 10 season.

WORKING OVERTIME

The Dukes are coming off back-to-back overtime games for just the fourth time in school history. The last time DU played consecutive overtime games was in January of 1991 vs. Temple (W, 60-59) and Penn State (W, 87-81). Duquesne also played back-to-back overtime games in December of 1981 and February of 1967. No Duquesne team has ever played three consecutive overtime games. The school record for OT games in a season is four done in 1976-77, 1990-91 and 1993-94.

LOOKING FOR NO. 4

The Dukes, who are 1-3 on the road this season, are looking for their fourth consecutive victory. DU's third win matched its longest win streak last season. The last time Duquesne won four in a row was during the 1999-00 season.

ON THE GLASS

The Dukes have outrebounded three of their first 13 opponents, coincidentally all three were victories: DU outboarded West Virginia 38-32 in an 86-82 win over the Mountaineers; Duquesne also enjoyed a 46-36 margin on the glass in a 74-63 win over Sacred Heart and outrebounded St. Francis, N.Y. 39-25 in a 67-57 win.

DEFENSE IMPROVING

In winning five of the last seven games, Duquesne has limited opponents to 39.5 percent shooting from the field (155-392) and 30.3 percent (44-145) from the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, on the other end, the Dukes are shooting 45.4 percent from the field - it is the school's best shooting mark since the 1993 team converted 45.7 percent of its shots.

TURNOVER TROUBLES

Duquesne has been plagued by turnovers in the early season. Through 13 games, the Dukes are averaging 21.2 miscues per game with a high of 35 at Maryland and a "low" of 16 vs. Mount St. Mary's. None of the team's regulars has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

Have fewer turnovers translated to victories? Not exactly.

DU has averaged 21.2 turnovers per game in its six wins and 21.3 turnovers per game in its seven losses. "Rebounding and turnovers are our problem," said DU head coach Danny Nee following the Dukes' 28-turnover performance in the win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. "We have got to increase the rebounds and decrease the turnovers."

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

• Dokes, 6-9, hit 8-of-11 shots from the field (including four dunks) and 13-of-18 from the line vs. the Mountaineers. Dokes added 21 more vs. Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 7. The South Bend, Ind. native earned a spot on the FIU New Year's Classic All-Tournament team with 26 points and 13 rebounds (including 11 boards vs. St. Francis, N.Y.) in the two games. Dokes is shooting 50.5% from the field and 74.5% (38-of-51) from the free throw line. He is currently battling an injured shoulder that limited him to 21 minutes of action vs. UMES.

• Entering the season, Duquesne had just one player on its roster with a 20-point game in Division I play (Kevin Forney)

• 6-8 guard Jimmy Tricco, a first-year transfer from Gonzaga, has also reached the 20-point mark with 20 at George Mason. His put-back of his own miss with 2.5 seconds left in regulation forced overtime in DU's 71-68 win over Florida International. Tricco has led the Dukes in scoring three times and assists six times in 13 games. Tricco's career scoring high entering the season was 13 set at Boise State during his sophomore season at Gonzaga. He has hit five three-pointers in a game twice this season (5-of-10 vs. Cleveland State and 6-of-8 at George Mason). He shot 34.8% (8-of-23) from the experimental 20'6" 3-point arc at San Juan. 80 of his 118 field goal attempts (67.8%) have come from beyond the 3-point arc. Tricco's six three-pointers at GMU were the most by a DU player since Courtney Wallace hit 6-of-11 from long range vs. La Salle on Feb. 20, 1999.

• Senior swingman Brad Midgley has come off the bench to be a major contributor for the Dukes. The 6-5 Pittsburgh native is tied for third on the team in assists (21) and is second on the team with 17 steals in just over 21 minutes per game. He made his first start of the season (Palmer out with tendinitis in knee) vs. Mount St. Mary's. Midgley missed the FIU game with the flu, and played just 15 minutes vs. UMES while still recovering from the virus.

• Sophomore power forward Simplice Njoya posted his second career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds vs. Sacred Heart in the first game of the San Juan Shootout, and followed that with back-to-back scoreless outings vs. Troy State and Denver (0-of-9 in the two games). Hounced back with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting at Florida International and a career high-tying 17 points (5-of-9) vs. UMES and added a career high four steals vs. the Fighting Hawks. The 6-10 Cameroon native has been slowed by foul trouble; although he has fouled out just once, Njoya has finished eight other games with four fouls. He was called for a total of three fouls in the last two wins over FIU and UMES.

• JC transfer Elijah Palmer exploded for 35 points and 18 rebounds in earning MVP at the FIU New Years Classic, He posted a double-double (18-10) vs. St. Francis, N.Y. and followed that with 17 points and 8 boards vs. Florida International. Then he talied 16 more points vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore. Palmer , who missed the Mount St. Mary's game due to tendinitis in his left knee, is second on the team with 24 offensive rebounds. His 5.6 overall rpg. average leads the squad. The junior was 1-of-11 from the arc before hitting 3-of-3 three-pointers vs. FIU and 2-of-3 from behind the arc vs. UMES. His lone double-digit scoring game prior to the FIU Classic was 13 vs. West Virginia.

• Freshman point guard Bryant McAllister moved into the starting lineup prior to the San Juan Shootout (Dec. 20-22). He is averaging 10.7 ppg. since making the move. For the season, McAllister is shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 71.9 percent from the free throw line. Saw a streak of five consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped at FIU. The Pittsburgh native was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the week of Dec. 14-21 after averaging 15.3 ppg. in three games. He scored a season-high 19 points vs. Troy State and has led the team in assists three times.

• Senior guard Kevin Forney leads the team with a 11.6 ppg. scoring average. The Philadelphia native has scored in double digits in each of the Dukes' last seven games. Forney, who leads the team with 54 career starts, has come off the bench to score 41 points in DU's last three games. He also leads the team with 19 steals.

TEMPLE NEXT

The Dukes open the home A-10 season on Wednesday, Jan. 8 vs. Temple at the Palumbo Center. Game time is 7:30 p.m. (EST). "Duquesne No. 1" foam fingers will be given to the first 500 fans in attendance. The giveaway is sponsored by Stargate.