Dec. 5, 2003

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DUKES HOST LOYOLA:

Duquesne (1-2), coming off a hard-fought 59-45 loss to cross-town rival #22 (AP) Pittsburgh on Wednesday, will look to put an end to a two-game losing streak against Loyola, Md. (0-4) at the Palumbo Center at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. The Loyola game is the last of four in a row at home for the Dukes to start the season. It is also the Dukes' last home game until Dec. 20 vs. George Mason. Duquesne, bolstered by its first sellout crowd since 1994, held a 24-22 halftime lead against Pittsburgh, but couldn't hold on as the Panthers pulled away in the second half. First-year sophomore Ryan Tricco came off the bench to lead the Dukes with 10 points vs. Pitt.

The Loyola game is the Dukes' last before the start of final exams (Dec. 10-16). DU will make a same-day trip to face West Virigina at Morgantown on the evening of Dec. 13 during finals and will follow that with a road trip to Akron to face the Zips on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

THE SERIES

This is the first meeting between Duquesne and Loyola ... the Greyhounds, members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, were picked to finish 10th in the 10-team league in a preseason vote of league coaches ... Loyola is 0-4 on the young season with neutral losses to UMBC (72-50) and Coppin State (82-65) in the Battle of Baltimore, a 66-62 home loss to Towson and a 77-60 MAAC-opening loss at Iona on Tuesday ... six-four sophomore guard Charlie Bell leads Loyola with an 18.0 ppg. scoring average ... Bell, the only Greyhound who is currently scoring in double figures, is 13-of-27 (48.1%) from the 3-point arc ... Loyola is shooting 36.3 percent from the field and 56.1 percent from the free throw line on the young season ... Duquesne is 40-22 all-time against the schools that comprise the current Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

DUQUESNE LATELY

The Dukes, who opened the season with a 10-of-19 performance from the 3-point arc vs. Prairie View, have struggled from long distance in their last two games, hitting just 10-of-47 attempts (21.3%) ... first-year sophomore G/F Ryan Tricco came off the bench to score a team-high 10 points vs. Pitt ... he is 5-of-10 from the 3-point arc this season (team-best 50%) ... junior F Elijah Palmer leads the Dukes in both scoring 16.3 and rebounding 8.0 ... he has gone to the free throw line a team-high 20 times (14-of-20, 70.0%) ... 6-9 freshman C Kieron Achara ranks second on the team in rebounding (4.7 rpg.) in an average of 14.7 minutes per game ... the Scotland native leads the team in blocked shots with four ... DU is averaging 13.0 turnovers/g., down from last year?s Atlantic 10-leading 18.9/g. ... Duquesne?s opponents are shooting just 39.1 percent from the field.