Feb. 4, 2003

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TELEVISION: Time Warner Sports TV with Tom Michaels & Mark Adams
(Will air in Dayton market only)
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com

DUKES HOME FOR TWO IN A ROW

Duquesne (7-14, 1-7), coming off a 68-58 loss at George Washington on Saturday, returns home for a pair of Atlantic 10 games this week. The Dukes tip-off the homestand versus West Division leading Dayton (15-3, 7-0) on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. (KQV-AM 1410 radio & internet broadcast at www.redzonemedia.com). DU then hosts La Salle in an Atlantic 10 TV game on Saturday, Feb. 8.

The Dukes will be looking to end a six-game losing streak against a Dayton team that is coming off a 75-70 win at La Salle on Saturday.

Dayton, winner of eight in a row, is 4-3 on the road this season (3-0 in the A-10). The Flyers' last loss was at Duke on Dec. 29 (74-85). Duquesne is 4-4 at home, including 1-2 mark in league play.

Dayton is led by the trio of 6-6 senior swingman Brooks Hall (14.2, 7.5), 6-9 junior pivot Keith Waleskowski (12.6, 7.9) and 6-2 junior guard Ramod Marshall (11.9, 4.2 apg.), all of whom are averaging over 30 minutes per game.

Duquesne's Kevin Forney and Jimmy Tricco, who combined for 33 second-half points in DU's 77-72 loss at Dayton on Jan. 11, lead the Dukes at 13.1 & 10.8 ppg. respectively.

HALF-TIME SHOW

Duquesne's world famous Tamburitzans will perform at halftime. For more information on the Tammies, please click here.

DUKES vs. FLYERS

Dayton leads the overall series 34-15, including a 12-10 edge in games played at Pittsburgh. The Flyers also hold a 14-2 advantage in Atlantic 10 regular season games. UD, winner of the last 12 in a row, has won the last five meetings at the Palumbo Center. DU's last series win was at home on Jan. 30, 1997 by an 80-71 count.

Earlier this season, Duquesne rallied from a 20-point second half deficit to take a one-point lead with just over one minute left only to fall short in a 77-72 loss at UD Arena.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne's guards, senior Kevin Forney (10-20) and junior Jimmy Tricco (22-44) are both shooting 50% from the 3-point arc in league play.
• As a team, the Dukes are converting at a 38.0% clip from the 3-point arc. That percentage was the best in the A-10 at the start of the week, and is on pace to be the best in school history (the current mark of 37.5% was set in 1989-90).
• 70 has been the magic number for DU; the Dukes are 5-2 when holding opponents under 70 and 4-3 when scoring over 70.

COUNTDOWN TO 1,000

Kevin Forney enters the Dayton game with 971 career points. He needs 29 to become Duquesne's 29th 1,000-point scorer and would join DU All-American Chuck Cooper who tallied exactly 1,000 points in his career from 1947-1950.

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

Senior guard Kevin Forney leads the team with a 13.1 ppg. scoring average. He saw a streak of 11 games in double digits snapped at Xavier two weeks ago but then 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 nine of DU's last 11 games. He started in the conference opener 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.

He scored 13 of his career high-tying 22 points in the second half at Dayton (9-of-12 from the field).

Forney is averaging 15.5 ppg. and shooting 57.5% from the field (10-of-20 from the arc) and 88.2% (30-of-34) from the foul line in league play. He also leads the team with 22 steals.

6-8 guard Jimmy Tricco, a first-year transfer from Gonzaga, has 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, scoring 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. 124 of his 180 field goal attempts (68.9%) have come from beyond the 3-point arc and is shooting 50% (22-44) from behind the arc in A-10 play.

He leads the team with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.947 (49/52) and is tied for second with 21 steals.

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 ranks second on the team with 49 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.

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 48.8% from the field and 71.1% (52-of-74) from the free throw line.

JC transfer Elijah Palmer is tied for the team lead (with Dokes) with a 5.2 rebound per game average. His 42 offensive boards are a team best.

Palmer exploded for 35 points and 18 rebounds in earning MVP at the FIU New Year's Classic where he posted a double-double (18-10) vs. St. Francis, N.Y. and followed that with 17 points and 8 boards vs. Florida International.

He added 16 more in the Dukes' next contest vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore. Palmer had a career-high 20 (8-of-13 including four dunks) in DU's only conference win vs. Temple last month.

Palmer was 1-of-11 from the arc before hitting 3-of-3 three-pointers vs. FIU; he's 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's averaging 8.9 ppg. in league play. While he shot just 38.5 percent (10-26) from the foul line in non-conference play, the Illinois native has rallied to convert 64.5 percent (20-31) 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 has struggled early in conference play averaging 6.1 ppg. on 30.2% (16-of-53) shooting (0-of-7 from the 3-point arc).

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 leads the team with 51 assists, and has led the team in assists in a game a team-high nine times. He has 30 assists and 25 turnovers in A-10 play. Mcllister is 0-of-9 from the 3-point arc in his last four games (and 4-of-17 from the arc in A-10 play).

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.

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 (33) and is tied for second on the team with 21 steals in just over 20 minutes per game.

While the Dukes have an assist/turnover ratio of 0.620 as a team, Midgley's 0.917 (33/360 is second best for the Red and Blue.

Midgley has started four times and scored in double digits four times with a high of 13 off the bench both at Pitt and vs. Cleveland State.

REDSHIRT PLANS

Duquesne Head Coach Danny Nee plans to redshirt junior forward Jon Pawlak and freshman guard Mike Spadafora. Technically, a non-participation redshirt may only be granted at the conclusion of the season only if a studentathlete does not represent DU in a contest.

Could Pawlak and Spadafora play this season? Yes. Will they? Not if things continue as planned. If either Pawlak or Spadafora were to appear in any game against outside competition (which included the two exhibition games), they would forfeit the opportunity to redshirt.

The 6-9 Pawlak saw action in all 28 games last season. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in just over 19 minutes per game. Spadafora, who attended Philadelphia Archbishop Wood High School, is a non-scholarship player this season.

ROSTER MOVES

Walk on guard Jeremy Conley, a record-setting All-American wide receiver for Duquesne's nationally ranked I-AA Mid-Major football team, did not rejoin the basketball squad this winter. The 6-2, 215-pound fifth-year senior saw action in four games in 2001-02 after joining the team's practice squad in mid-December. Conley, an elementary education major, is spending the winter completing his undergraduate degree.

Junior center Derek Ahern left the Duquesne basketball team on Jan. 2. The 6-11, 260-pound Maryland native played in one of the Dukes' first 13 games, scoring two points in four minutes at Maryland on Nov. 30.

HIGGINS THE NEWEST DUKE

Six-five guard Jack Higgins, who graduated from Pittsburgh's Schenley High School in 2001, transferred to Duquesne from Cleveland State over the Christmas break. Higgins, who was the 2001 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review City League Player of the Year, played in each of CSU's first five games this season. He averaged 3.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game with a high scoring game of five points vs. Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Higgins, who led Schenley to its first PIAA state final since 1978 as a prepster, will be eligible to play for the Dukes following the fall 2003 semester. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.

LA SALLE NEXT

Duquesne completes its brief two-game homestand vs. La Salle on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4:00 p.m. The La Salle game will air as part of the Atlantic 10 Television Network (Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh locally). This is "Danny Nee Bobblehead Night #2 (see photo on right)." Miniature replicas of DU's head coach will be given to the first 1,000 in attendance, courtesy of Morreale Chiropractic.

In addition, three former outstanding Duquesne student-athletes, Dan DeFelice (football class of '81), Korie Hlede (basketball class of '98) and Katie Michalski (volleyball class of '96), will be inducted into the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame during halftime. For more information, please click here.

Following the La Salle game, the Dukes will be off for a week before playing at Fordham on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1:00 p.m.