Nov. 26, 2003
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SIENA (2-0) at DUQUESNE (1-0)
Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003 - 4:00 p.m. (EST) - A.J. Palumbo Center (6,200)TELEVISION: Cox-3 (Rhode Island viewing area only)
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com
DUQUESNE HOSTS 2-0 SIENA
Duquesne (1-0) follows the Thanksgiving holiday with a home game vs. Siena (2-0) on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Palumbo Center (4:00 p.m.). The Siena game is the second of four in a row at home for the Dukes to start the 2004 campaign. DU opened its season on Tuesday with a 77-57 victory over Prairie View A&M.
Jimmy Tricco led four Dukes in double figures with 18 points in the win over the Panthers. Duquesne is the second consecutive Atlantic 10 opponent for Siena. On Tuesday, the Saints defeated Fordham at home by a 77-59 count. Sophomore forward Michael Haddix led Siena with 16 points. This is the first road game of the season for Siena.
THE SERIES
This is the second meeting between Duquesne and Siena ... the Saints, members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, took the previous meeting, 91-89, at the Hawaii Pacific Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 26, 2000 ... ... DU is 40-21 all time vs. the schools that make up the current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ... Siena returns 10 lettermen including four starters from a 21-11 team that defeated Villanova (74-59) and Western Michigan (68-62) before losing to Alabama-Birmingham in the second round (71-80) of last year's NIT ... the Saints are 2-0 on the young season with home wins over Albany (71-50) and Atlantic 10 member Fordham (77-59) ... sophomore forward Michael Haddix (17.0, 8.5) and junior guard Tommy Mitchell (13.0) are the Saints' top returning scorers ... Haddix posted a double-double in Siena's season-opening win over Albany (18-11) and added a team-high 16 points in the win over Fordham ... Siena outrebounded Fordham 61-31 on Tuesday night ... of the 61 boards, 26 came at the offensive end ... Siena, under third-year coach Rob Lanier, was picked to finish fourth in the 10-team MAAC in a preseason poll of league coaches.
DUQUESNE LATELY
Duquesne's 20-point win over Prairie View was its first 20+ point win since a 95-66 victory over Fordham on Feb. 2, 2002 ... DU's largest margin of victory in a game last season was +11 (73-62 over Sacred Heart at the San Juan Shootout) ... balance was the name of the game for the Dukes as 10 different players scored and six different players hit at least one 3-pointer ... for the game, Duquesne was 10-of-19 (52.6%) from the arc and assisted on 18 of 24 field goals ... DU is 40-21 all time vs. the schools that make up the current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ... JC transfer Martin Osimani took just three shots, but made his presence felt by leading the Dukes with five assists vs. Prairie View ... Jimmy Tricco finished with a game-high 18 points ... he went 6-of-9 from the field, 4-of-7 from the 3-point arc, handed out four assists, blocked two shots and added two steals in 29 minutes of action ... one of his assists was to his brother, Ryan, on Ryan's first career DU bucket (a 3-pointer in the second half).
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS VS. PRAIRIE VIEW A&M| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | G/GS | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 4 | F | Elijah Palmer | 6-7 | Sr. | 16.0 | 4.0 | 1/1 | Marshall, Mo. | Leading rebounder last season; 5-of-7 (16 pts.) vs. Prairie View |
| 44 | G | Jimmy Tricco | 6-8 | Sr. | 18.0 | 5.0 | 1/1 | Phoenix, Ariz. | 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks vs. PVU |
| 41 | C | Ron Dokes | 6-8 | Sr. | 11.0 | 6.0 | 1/1 | South Bend, Ind. | 7-of-9 from line (11 points), team-high 6 rebounds vs. Prairie View |
| 22 | G | Bryant McAllister | 6-3 | So. | 10.0 | 5.0 | 1/1 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Led team with 79 assists as a freshman; avg. 25.9 min./g. |
| 5 | F | Martin Osimani | 6-4 | Jr. | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1/1 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Transfer from Miami-Dade CC; Began career at Utah ('01-'02) |
Off the bench| 32 | G | Tyler Bluemling | 6-2 | Jr. | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1/0 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Played in 23 g. in '03; averaged 9.8 min./g as a back-up PG |
| 33 | F | Jon Pawlak | 6-9 | Jr. | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1/0 | Natrona Heights, Pa. | Redshirted last season; has played in 41 career games |
| 20 | G | Ryan Tricco | 6-4 | So. | 5.0 | 0.0 | 1/0 | Phoenix, Ariz. | First-year transfer from Mesa (Ariz.) CC |
| 42 | C | Kieron Achara | 6-9 | Fr. | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1/0 | Stirling, Scotland | True freshman played last year at Maine Central Institute |
| 23 | G | Jack Higgins | 6-5 | So. | ---- | ---- | ---- | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Transfer from Cleveland St. will be eligible at mid-term (Dec. 17) |
'TIS BETTER TO GIVE
With the holiday season just around the corner, the Dukes are getting a jump on the act of giving. In the opener vs. Prairie View, DU assisted on 18 of 24 field goals. For the game, Duquesne finished with 18 assists and 15 turnovers. Although the assist-to-turnover is not staggering, it is a step in the right direction for the Dukes who posted more assists than turnovers just four times in 30 games last season in leading the Atlantic 10 with 18.9 turnovers per game. If you throw in the two exhibitions, that's three games in row DU has finished with more assists than turnovers.
