Jan. 27, 2003

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DUKES SET FOR REMATCH AT RICHMOND

Duquesne (7-12, 1-5), coming off an 86-78 home loss to St. Bonaventure on Saturday, heads to Richmond (11-6, 5-1) for an intradivisional conference matchup with the Spiders. DU is looking to put an end to a four-game losing streak. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Jan. 28 (KQV-AM 1410 radio & internet broadcast at www.redzonemedia.com).

This will be the second meeting between the Spiders and Dukes in 10 days. On Jan. 18, Richmond defeated DU 75-69 at Pittsburgh. Richmond, who won at La Salle (62-55) in its last outing, is 7-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to Wake Forest on Jan. 4 (68-62). Duquesne is 1-6 on the road this season, including an 0-3 mark in Atlantic 10 action.

DUKES vs. SPIDERS

Duquesne holds an 8-3 edge in a series that dates back to a 37-29 DU win on Jan. 12, 1937. Richmond, a former member of the Colonial Athletic Association, joined the Atlantic 10 last season. UR swept the series last year, 55-51 at Richmond and 83-57 at Pittsburgh, and took the first meeting this year 75-69 at Pittsburgh on Jan. 18. The two teams met four times between 1973 and 1978 and then once each in 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95.

The Dukes lead 4-1 at Richmond, 3-1 at Pittsburgh and 1-0 at neutral sites. The Spiders are in their first season under head coach Jerry Wainright. Wainwright came to Richmond after spending eight seasons at UNC Wilmington to replace John Beilein who took over the top job at West Virginia.

IN THE FIRST MEETING

Duquesne rallied from a 16-point second half deficit to take a three-point lead with 6:33 left before falling 75-69. Kevin Forney led four Dukes in double figures with 19 points. Jeff Myers and Tony Dobbins led UR with 18 points each.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne features completely revamped starting lineup from a year ago with PG Bryant McAllister (Fr.), JC transfers F Elijah Palmer (Jr.) & C Ron Dokes (Jr.), Gonzaga transfer G Jimmy Tricco (Jr.) and F Simplice Njoya (So.).
• Njoya, the lone returnee, is a relative "newcomer" after having to sit out 19 games as a freshman last season due to an NCAA suspension.
• Overall, newcomers are accounting for just under 58% of the team's scoring.
• Senior G Kevin Forney has been outstanding in Atlantic 10 play with a 17.0 ppg. scoring average. He is shooting 68.6% from the field, 62.5% from the 3-point arc and 91.7% from the foul line in six league games.
• The Dukes are converting at a 38.9% clip from the 3-point arc. That percentage is on pace to be the best in school history (the current mark of 37.5% was set in 1989-90).

MORE ON RICHMOND

The Spiders' balanced attack is led by the perimeter games of 6-4 junior Tony Dobbins (13.2), 6-6 junior Mike Skrocki (12.7) and 6-1 senior Mike Myers (11.8). Myers hit 4-of-5 from the 3-point arc in scoring 18 in the first meeting between the Dukes and Spiders.

Richmond ranks second in the A-10 in scoring defense at 62.2 ppg. Dobbins, who had four steals in UR's win over DU on Jan. 18, leads the league with 2.76 steals per game and Johnathan Collins leads the A-10 with 1.94 blocks per game (31 in 17 g.). UR is averaging 18.8 3-point field goal attempts per game (36.1%).

"BUZZ"WORTHY

Since moving from point guard to the shooting guard spot prior to the San Juan Shootout, senior guard Kevin "Buzzy" Forney has been a much more effective player at the offensive end. As a two-guard, Forney is averaging 5.7 more points per game and has seen his shooting percentage increase dramatically. His 51.1 percent accuracy from behind would lead the conference if he had two more treys; the Philly native currently doesn't meet the 1.5 made shots per game requirement.

Forney enters the Richmond game with 949 career points. He needs 51 to become Duquesne's 29th 1,000-point scorer.

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

Senior guard Kevin Forney leads the team with a 13.3 ppg. scoring average. Saw a streak of 11 games in double digits snapped at Xavier, bounced back with 21 off the bench vs. St. Bonaventure. Forney, who leads the team with 56 career starts, has come off the bench in seven of DU's last nine games.

Started at Saint Joseph's and responded by tying his career high with 22 points vs. the Hawks (7-of-11 from the field) in his hometown, also started at Xavier. (Next Philadelphia contest is March 1, 2003 at La Salle.

Scored 13 of his career high-tying 22 in the second half at Dayton (9-of-12 from the field). He is averaging 17.0 ppg. and shooting 68.6% from the field (10-of-16 from the arc) and 91.7% (22-of-24) from the foul line in league play. Leads the team with 22 steals.

Entering the season, Forney was the only player on DU's roster with a 20-point game in Division I play.

JC transfer Ron Dokes' 29 points vs. West Virginia on Nov. 25 were the most by a Duquesne big man since Derrick Alston scored 30 vs. Detroit Mercy in the first round of the 1993 MCC Tournament.

The 6-10 Alston was taken in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1994 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and played three seasons for the Sixers and Atlanta Hawks. Alston is currently playing professionally in Spain.

Dokes, 6-9, hit 8-of-11 shots from the field (including four dunks) and 13-of-18 from the line vs. the Mountaineers. Added 21 more vs. Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 7. He also hit 7-of-10 from the field in scoring 16 at Xavier.

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 50.3% from the field and 70.3% (52-of-74) from the free throw line.

6-8 guard Jimmy Tricco, a first-year transfer from Gonzaga, has also reached the 20-point mark twice with 20 at George Mason and 20 (all in the second half) at Dayton. His career scoring high entering the season was 13 set at Boise State during his sophomore season at Gonzaga.

The Phoenix native has hit five three-pointers in a game four times this season (5-10 vs. Cleveland State, 6-8 at George Mason, 6-8 at Dayton & 5-11 vs. St. Bonaventure). 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. He matched that with six more threes (all in the second half) at Dayton. His 20 second-half points vs. the Flyers keyed a 20-point DU comeback; scored 15 of those points in a 5:34 span as the Dukes rallied from a 52-32 deficit to take a 72-71 lead with a minute left.

Tricco, who's younger brother Ryan is siiting out this year at Duquesne after transferring from Mesa Community College, shot 34.8% (8-of-23) from the experimental 20'6" 3-point arc at San Juan. 117 of his 167 field goal attempts (70%) have come from beyond the 3-point arc. Tricco, who is averaging a team-high 29.4 minutes per game, also leads the team with 46 assists. His 42.7 percent accuracy from behind the arc is the fourth best in the A-10.

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 in the championship game of the FIU New Year's Classic.

JC transfer Elijah Palmer is tied for the team lead (with Dokes) with a 5.3 rebound per game average. His 37 offensive boards are a team best. Exploded for 35 points and 18 rebounds in earning MVP at the FIU New Year's Classic.

Posted a double-double (18-10) vs. St. Francis, N.Y. and followed that with 17 points and 8 boards vs. Florida International. Added 16 more in the next game vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore and a career-high 20 (8-of-13 including four dunks) vs. Temple.

Palmer was 1-of-11 from the arc before hitting 3-of-3 three-pointers vs. FIU. He has made eight of his last 17 three-point attempts. His lone double-digit scoring game prior to the FIU Classic was 13 vs. West Virginia.

Palmer's scoring average stood at 5.2 ppg. on Dec. 22; he is averaging 10.2 ppg. in league play. While he shot just 38.5 percent (10-26) from the foul line in non-conference play, he has rallied to convert 72.0 percent (18-25) of free throws in A-10 action.

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). Bounced back with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting at Florida International.

Njoya had 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 only been slowed by foul trouble. Although he has fouled out just once, Njoya has finished 10 other games with four fouls.

He is shooting 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from the 3-point arc; has struggled early in conference play averaging 5.7 ppg. on 28.2% (11-of-39) shooting.

Freshman point guard Bryant McAllister moved into the starting lineup prior to the San Juan Shootout (Dec. 20-22) and scored in double digits in his first four games as a starter. Cooled off with just nine points in three games before bouncing back to score 11 and add a team-high 5 assists vs. Temple.

Handed out a season high seven assists (with two turnovers) at Dayton and scored 10 of his 12 vs. Richmond in the second half. Did not commit a turnover in 28 minutes at Xavier.

The Pittsburgh native is shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 71.8 percent from the free throw line overall. He saw a streak of five consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped at FIU.

McAllister 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, He has led the team in assists a team-high eight times.

Senior swingman Brad Midgley has come off the bench to be a major contributor for the Dukes. The 6-5 Pittsburgh native is fourth on the team in assists (29) and is third on the team with 19 steals in just over 20 minutes per game.

He made his first start of the season (Palmer out with tendinitis in knee) vs. Mount St. Mary's. Midgley started in the first game of the FIU Classic but saw limited time (12 minutes) because of the flu. Missed the FIU and then played 15 minutes vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore in the Red and Blue's next outing. Started Saturday vs. St. Bonaventure.

NEXT UP - AT GEORGE WASHINGTON

The Dukes will back south head to Washington D.C. to face George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 1. The GW game, which will be televised as part of the Atlantic 10 Network, will tip at 4:00 p.m. (EST). The game may be seen locally on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh as well as over KQV-AM 1410 radio and over the internet at www.redzonemedia.com).