March 1, 2003
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DUQUESNE (9-18, 3-11) at LA SALLE (10-14, 4-9)
Saturday, Mar. 1, 2003 - 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Philadelphia, PA - Tom Gola Arena (4,000)TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com
DUKES COMPLETE ROAD SCHEDULE AT LA SALLE
Duquesne (9-18, 3-11) completes the road portion of its 2002-03 regular-season schedule at La Salle on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 2:00 p.m. (KQV-AM 1410 radio & internet broadcast at www.redzonemedia.com). The Dukes will be looking to avenge an 82-74 setback to the Explorers at Pittsburgh on Feb. 8.
La Salle, who has lost four in a row since the win over DU, has struggled without 6-8 freshman forward Steven Smith (14.5, 8.1) who injured his left foot in the loss to the Dukes. La Salle, who is coming off a 75-53 loss to Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, is led in scoring by five-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, 6-4 freshman guard Gary Neal (19.3, 75 3-pointers). The Explorers are 7-4 at home this season (3-3 in the A-10).
Duquesne, who is coming off an 80-78 overtime home loss to #13 Xavier on Wednesday, is led in scoring by sixth man - and Philly native - Kevin Forney (13.7). Guard Jimmy Tricco (10.6 ppg.) and 6-9 center Ron Dokes (10.3 ppg.) are also averaging in double digits for the Dukes.
THE SERIES
La Salle leads the overall series 28-23. At Philadelphia La Salle leads 19-5; at Pittsburgh, Duquesne holds a 16-8 edge; whilea at neutral sites DU leads 2-1. The home team had won 12 in a row (six each) in the series until La Salle ended the streak with a 62-54 win at the Palumbo Center last year. The Explorers also won at Duquesne this season (82-74 on Feb. 8). La Salle swept the season series last year for the first sweep by either school since La Salle joined the A-10 in 1995-96. Duquesne's last win at La Salle was Jan. 20, 1979 (a span of five games). The DU/La Salle series dates back to Feb. 10, 1940.
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 4 | F | Elijah Palmer | 6-7 | Jr. | 9.5 | 5.4 | Marshall, Mo. | JC transfer coming off 17-point outing (7-11 from field) vs. #13 Xavier |
| 14 | F | Simplice Njoya | 6-10 | So. | 7.4 | 4.6 | Yaound?, Cameroon | 17 points and 6 rebounds last season at La Salle |
| 41 | C | Ron Dokes | 6-9 | Jr. | 10.3 | 5.2 | South Bend, Ind. | JC transfer posted 15 points and 7 rebounds vs. Xavier |
| 44 | G | Jimmy Tricco | 6-8 | Jr. | 10.6 | 3.4 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Gonzaga transfer has hit five or more "3's" in a game six times |
| 22 | G | Bryant McAllister | 6-3 | Fr. | 7.1 | 2.1 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | True freshman has a 1.2-to-1 (51-42) assist-turnover ratio in A-10 play |
OFF THE BENCH
| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 20 | G | Kevin Forney | 6-4 | Sr. | 13.77 | 3.6 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Shooting 54.4% from the field and 85.7% from the foul line in A-10 play |
| 21 | F | Brad Midgley | 6-5 | Sr. | 6.3 | 3.4 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Team-high 112 games played; fourth on team with 41 assists |
| 32 | G | Tyler Bluemling | 6-2 | So. | 1.8 | 0.8 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Played in all 28 games last season; averaging 5.9 minutes per game in A-10 play |
| 42 | F/C | Chris Clark | 6-10 | Sr. | 0.6 | 1.0 | Toronto, Ontario | Averaging 7.4 minutes per game as a back-up center |
| 1 | G | Aly Samabaly | 6-3 | So. | 0.4 | 0.7 | Bamako, Mali | Saw action in 23 games as a freshman; has not played in last six games |
THE RACE
Duquesne (3-11), La Salle (4-9) and George Washington (4-10) are in a three-way battle for fourth place in the A-10 West. The only guarantees that can come out of Saturday's game are: a La Salle win would assure the Explorers at least a fifth place finish (by virtue of its five wins) and would also guarantee a sixth-place finish for Duquesne. As it stands, DU would lose any tiebreaker with George Washington by virtue of GW's better West Division overall record.
DUQUESNE LATELY:
- Seventeen of DU's 27 games this season have been decided by single digits (as opposed to eight of 28 games last year).
- As a team, the Dukes are converting at a 37.6% clip from the 3-point arc; the mark is on pace to be the best in school history (the current record of 37.5% was set in 1989-90).
- Jimmy Tricco (69-155, 44.5%) is currently ahead of Courtney Wallace's school record single-season 3-point shooting pct. (44.1% in 2000-01).
- The Dukes start four first-year players and one soph. (Simplice Njoya); underclassmen account for just under 70 percent of Duquesne's total points.
- DU is averaging 11.2 fewer points per game on the road (60.8-to-72.0).
- The Dukes are 6-2 this season when holding opponents under 70 points.
- This is the final trip home for senior Philadelphia native Kevin Forney.
BABY STEPS
"For the people who criticize us for not getting the job done, I really feel we are making strides. A blind man could see that this program is on the rise," said DU coach Danny Nee in late-February. Despite the Dukes' misleading record, the facts back Nee's assessment. Last year, Duquesne played in a total of eight single-digit games. So far this season 17 of the Dukes' 27 games have been single-digit affairs. In addition, last year DU was outscored by 15 or more points on 11 occasions. This year, the Dukes have been defeated by 15 or more just six times.
"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 twoguard, Forney is averaging 5.4 more points per game and has seen his shooting percentage increase dramatically:
| FORNEY | FG-AT | PCT | PPG |
| First 7 games | 24-55 | .436 | 9.7 |
| Last 19 games | 106-206 | .515 | 15.1 |
A CLOSER LOOK
| Career games/starts | 102/56 |
| Minutes/g. (2,627/102) | 25.7 |
| Total points | 1,065 |
| Scoring average | 10.4 |
| Field Goal % (392-842) | .466 |
| Three Point % (76-202) | .376 |
| Free Throw % (205-259) | .791 |
| 20-Point Games | 5 |
| Double Digit Games | 61 [Freshman (5), Sophomore (11), Junior (22), Senior (23)] |
| Career High (three times) | 22 [at Dayton and at St. Joe's (Sr.) & vs. Central Florida (Soph.)] |
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 18 points in Wednesday game against Xavier and is now in 25th place with 1,065 points, 26 short of Jim Ticker's three-year total of 1,091 (1952-54).
DUQUESNE 1,000-POINT CLUB
| 1. Dick Ricketts, 1952-55 | 1,963 |
| 2. Derrick Alston, 1991-94 | 1,903 |
| 3. Tom Pipkins, 1994-97 | 1,828 |
| 4. Wayne Smith, 1998-02 | 1,820 |
| 5. Norm Nixon, 1974-77 | 1,805 |
| 6. Willie Somerset, 1962, `64-65 | 1,725 |
| 7. Sihugo Green, 1954-56 | 1,605 |
| 8. Bruce Atkins, 1979-82 | 1,533 |
| 9. Kevin Price, 1995-98 | 1,485 |
| 10. Rick Suder, 1983-86 | 1,459 |
| 11. Mike James, 1995-98 | 1,411 |
| 12. Courtney Wallace, 1998-01 | 1,394 |
| 13. B.B. Flenory, 1977-80 | 1,382 |
| 14. Brian Shanahan, 1986-89 | 1,355 |
| 15. Jarrett Durham, 1969-71 | 1,339 |
| 16. Collins Dobbs, 1985-86, `88-89 | 1,337 |
| 17. Emmett Sellers, 1983-84, `86-87 | 1,335 |
| 18. Tony Petrarca, 1987-91 | 1,213 |
| 19. Lionel Billingy, 1972-74 | 1,156 |
| 20. Ron Willard, 1963-65 | 1,148 |
| 21. Effrem Whitehead, 1991-94 | 1,141 |
| 22. John Moore, 1977-79, `81 | 1,122 |
| 23. Moe Barr, 1967-69 | 1,094 |
| 24. Jim Tucker, 1952-54 | 1,091 |
| 25. KEVIN FORNEY, 2000- | 1,065 |
| 25. Ron Guziak, 1966-68 | 1,049 |
| 27. Ed Dahler, 1947-50 | 1,034 |
| 28. Willie Ross, 1963-65 | 1,014 |
| 29. Chuck Cooper, 1947-50 | 1,000 |
RHODE ISLAND NEXT
Duquesne completes the 2002-03 regular season at home vs. Rhode Island on Saturday, Mar. 8 (4:00 p.m.). The URI matchup is the final home game for seniors Demetrius Charles, Chris Clark, Kevin Forney and Brad Midgley.
