Feb. 18, 2003

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DUKES HOST GEORGE WASHINGTON

Duquesne (8-16, 2-9), who snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 74-65 win at Fordham on Saturday, returns home to face Atlantic 10 West Division foe George Washington (9-13, 3-8) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19 (KQV-AM 1410 radio & internet broadcast at www.redzonemedia.com).

The Dukes will be looking to avenge a 68-58 loss to the Colonials at Washington, D.C. on Feb. 1. GW, who snapped a three-game skid with a 64-50 win over Richmond on Sunday, is 0-5 on the road in Atlantic 10 play. The Colonials held the Spiders to their lowest point total of the season in Sunday's win. GW is led by 6-3 guard Chris Monroe (20.8, 5.0). Monroe, who is closing in on the George Washington school scoring record, is just the second player in school history, and 8th player in A-10 history, to score 2,000 career points.

Kevin Forney scored seven of his game-high 21 points during the Dukes' 17-7 game-ending run to seal the win at Fordham. Duquesne, who is 4-6 at home this season, has lost its last four at the Palumbo Center.

Tonight is "Foam Finger Night #3." Duquesne No. 1 foam fingers (sponsored by Stargate) will be given to the first 500 fans in attendance. In addition, Duquesne's winter sports seniors will be honored at halftime.

DUKES vs. COLONIALS

George Washington leads the overall series 36-22 and has won 16 of the last 18 meetings. In games played at Pittsburgh, DU leads 14-13. Duquesne ended a 10-game George Washington series losing streak with a 94-89 win at the Smith Center on Jan. 8, 2000. Last year the two split home wins with George Washington winning 74-50 at the Smith Center and Duquesne taking a 79-69 decison at the Palumbo Center. Earlier this season, GW defeated Duquesne 68-58 at Washington, D.C.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• As a team, the Dukes are converting at a 37.5% clip from the 3-point range; the mark is on pace to be the best in school history (the current mark of 37.5% was set in 1989-90).
• DU has cooled off from behind the arc as of late, going 34-107 (31.8%) in its last seven games.
• Kevin Forney topped the 1,000-point mark with a game-high 21 off the bench at Fordham. Forney enters the GW game with 1,017 career points. Hhe needs 18 to pass Ed Dahler (1,034) and move into the No. 26 spot on DU's all-time leading scorers' list.
• Ron Dokes' 14 points at Fordham were his most since he hit for 16 at Xavier on Jan. 21.
• DU is shooting 79.2% (61-77) from the foul line in its last four games.
• Duquesne is 6-2 this season when holding opponents under 70 points. One of the two losses came at George Washington on Feb. 1 (68-58).
• This is the 700th career game for DU head coach Danny Nee (385-314 - .551).

WORKING OVERTIME

The `03 Dukes, who finished the non-conference season with back-to-back overtime wins over Florida International (71-68) and Maryland- Eastern Shore (74-71) are just the fourth team in school history to play consecutive overtime games (the others occured in January of 1991, December of 1981 and February of 1967). The last time DU played three overtime games in one season was in 1995-96 (at Akron, at Xavier and vs. Saint Joseph's in the A-10 tournament). The school record for OT games in a season is four in 1976-77, 1990-91 and 1993-94. Duquesne head coach Danny Nee is 22-14 all-time in overtime including a 3-1 mark at DU.

INSIDE THE STATS

MEET THE NEW DUKE

The Duquesne Department of Athletics unveiled its new "Duke" mascot prior to the Jan. 18 game vs. Richmond. The Duke, who sports a dapper navy blue suit with red piping, a red shirt with a red bow tie and red gloves, stands a shade over 7-feet tall complete with an oversized head and black top hat. The new Duke replaces "Duke the Bear" who was a fixture at DU athletic events since 1996.

NO. 700 FOR NEE

The GW game is the 700th for DU head coach Danny Nee. Nee, whose career record stands at 385-314 (.551) is in his 23rd season . Here is his breakdown by school: Ohio U. (174 games), Nebraska (444), Robert Morris (29) and Duquesne (52).

"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 5.2 more points per game and has seen his shooting percentage increase dramatically:

Forney climbed over the 1,000 mark in the Fordham game. He entered the contest with 996 career points and hit 1K on a free throw at the 4:07 mark in the opening stanza. Forney scored 21 points in last Satruday's 74-65 win, passing All-American Chuck Cooper (1,000 -- 1947-50) and Willie Ross (1,014 -- 1963-65) and is now in 27th place with 1,017 points.

Forney shot 5-for-9 from the floor and hit 11 of 13 free throws, including five of six in the last 1:39 to help seal the win. This was the Philadelphia native's fifth 20-point game, which was one short of his career high of 22 points, and the 58th double digit game in his career.

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

• Senior guard Kevin Forney leads the team with a 13.4 ppg. scoring average and 20 double-digit scoring games. Forney, who leads the team with 56 career starts, has come off the bench in 12 of DU's last 14 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. Scored 13 of his career high-tying 22 in the second half at Dayton (9-of-12 from the field). Is averaging 15.5 ppg. and shooting 56.6% from the field (13-of-27 from the arc) and 88.2% (45-of-51) from the foul line in league play. Tied for third on the team (with Bryant McAllister) with 23 steals.
• 6-8 guard Jimmy Tricco, a first-year transfer from Gonzaga, has reached the 20-point mark three times with 23 vs. La Salle and 20 at both George Mason and (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 five times this season (5-10 vs. Cleveland State, 6-8 at George Mason, 6-8 at Dayton, 5-11 vs. St. Bonaventure & 7-13 vs. La Salle). Tricco's seven three-pointers vs. La Salle were the most by a DU player since Tom Pipkins hit 7-of-12 from long range vs. St. Bonaventure on Mar. 1, 1997 (a span of 167 games). Hit all six of his "3s" 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. Shot 34.8% (8-of-23) from the experimental 20'6" 3-point arc at San Juan. 141 of his 202 field goal attempts (69.8%) have come from beyond the 3-point arc. Is shooting 47.5% (29-61) from the thre-point range in A-10 play. 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.Tricco leads the team with 26 steals and ranks second on the team with 55 assists.
• 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. 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. He also hit 7-of-10 from the field in scoring 16 at Xavier. Entering the season, Duquesne had just one player on its roster with a 20-point game in Division I play (Kevin Forney). 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 broke out of a 2-16 two game slump with 14 points (5-10) at Fordham.
• JC transfer Elijah Palmer leads the team with a 5.4 rebound per game average. His 50 offensive boards and 31 blocked shots are also 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 vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore and a career-high 20 (8-of-13 including four dunks) vs. Temple. Hit 6-of-9 from the field with three dunks in scoring 15 vs. Dayton at home. Was 1-of-11 from the arc before hitting 3-of-3 three-pointers vs. FIU. Has made nine of his last 27 three-point attempts. His lone double-digit outing prior to the FIU Classic (first nine games) was 13 vs. West Virginia. Palmer's scoring average stood at 5.2 ppg. on Dec. 22. Is averaging 10.0 ppg. in league play. Shot 38.5 percent (10-26) from the foul line in non-conference play but has rallied to convert 68.3 percent (28-41) 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) and four points vs. St. Francis, NY. Bounced back with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting at Florida International and a career high-tying 17 points (5-of-9) vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore. Also added a career high four steals vs. the Fighting Hawks. Attempted a career-high 10 free throws (made six) in scoring 13 vs. Dayton on Feb. 5. Is shooting 33.3% from the field in league play. The 6-10 Cameroon native has been plagued by foul trouble throughout the season. Although he has fouled out just twice, Njoya has finished 12 other games with four fouls.
• 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 five 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. Tied his career high with 19 (6-8 from field) at home vs. Dayton. Added five assists and five steals vs. La Salle. Leads team with 59 assists, and has led the team in assists in a game a team-high 11 times. Has 38 assists and 35 turnovers in A-10 play. Was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the week of Dec. 14-21 after averaging 15.3 ppg. in three games. Posted his first 19-point game vs. Troy State in the San Juan Shootoug ... is 5-of-20 from the 3-point arc in A-10 play.
• 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 (36) and is second on the team with 24 steals in just over 21 minutes per game. Has started four times and scored in double digits seven times with a high of 13 off the bench both at Pitt and vs. Cleveland State. Added 11 points vs. Dayton at home and followed that with an A-10 high 12 both vs. La Salle and at Fordham. Also blocked a career high four shots vs. the Explorers. Is averaging 10.6 ppg. in his last five games (11 at Richmond, 7 at George Washington, 11 vs. Dayton, 12 vs. La Salle and 12 at Fordham).

UMASS NEXT

The Dukes travel to Amherst to face Massachusetts (10-14, 4-7) on Sunday, Feb. 23. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. UMass, winner of two in a row (54-53 vs. Richmond and 82-76 at St. Bonaventure), is idle this week. The Minutemen are 7-5 at home this season.