March 6, 2003

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DUKES COMPLETE REGULAR SEASON VS. RHODE ISLAND

Duquesne (9-19, 4-11), who has been idle since March 1, completes the regular-season schedule vs. Rhode Island (16-10, 9-6) on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 4:00 p.m. (KQV-AM 1410 radio & internet broadcast at www.redzonemedia.com). It is the final home game for Duquesne seniors, Demetrius Charles, Chris Clark, Kevin Forney and Brad Midgley.

Rhode Island picked to finish fifth in the A-10 East in the preseaon coaches poll, have locked up third place in the East. The Rams are led by 6-3 senior guard Brian Woodward (14.0) and 6-4 sophomore guard Dustin Hellenga (13.0). Rhode Island, who is 6-6 on the road this season (2-5 in the A-10), is coming off a 65-58 home win over UMass on Sunday.

Duquesne, who suffered a 71-66 setback at La Salle last Saturday, is led in scoring by sixth man Kevin Forney (13.4). Guard Jimmy Tricco 10.5 ppg.) and 6-9 center Ron Dokes (10.1 ppg.) are also averaging in double digits for the Dukes.

THE SERIES

Duquesne leads the series 21-19, including a 12-6 edge in games played at home. In Atlantic 10 regular-season games DU leads 18-17. The Dukes ended a 20-game Atlantic 10 road losing streak with a 72-69 win at URI last season. Duquesne, who snapped a five-game series losing streak with an 83-69 home win on Jan. 10, 2001, has won two of the last three meetings.

OFF THE BENCH

Midgley had a career high four blocks in the home game with La Salle

Earlier this week, St. Bonaventure forfeited six Atlantic 10 wins due to the use of an ineligible player. The forfeits changed a number of team league records, including Duquesne's. For the record, the Dukes are now 4- 11 in conference play. DU's overall record remains 9-19. The overall record can only be changed through action of the NCAA.

THE RACE

With St. Bonaventure's forfeiture of six Atlantic 10 wins, Duquesne's record stands at 4-11 in league play. The Dukes can still finish fifth in the A-10 West with a victory over Rhode Island combined with a George Washington home loss to Fordham (Fordham plays at GW at 2:00 on Saturday).

If the Dukes were to finish fifth they would play at Massachusetts on Monday. A sixth place finish would send DU to the home of the third place team in the A-10 East, Saturday's opponent Rhode Island. Temple clinched second place with a 68-58 win over La Salle on Thursday, March 6th.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Eighteen of DU's 28 games this season have been decided by single digits (as opposed to eight of 28 games last year).
• Jimmy Tricco (71-161, 44.1%) is currently tied with Courtney Wallace for the school single-season 3-point shooting percentage record (Wallace shot 44.1% in 2000-01).
• The Dukes start four first-year players and one soph. (Simplice Njoya).
• Underclassmen account for just under 70% of Duquesne's total points.
• DU is averaging +10.8 ppg. at home (72.0-to-61.2).
• As a team, the Dukes are shooting 42.2% from the 3-point arc at the Palumbo Center (32.4% on the road).
• DU is 6- 2 this season when holding opponents under 70 points.
• Duquesne is shooting 50 percent from the field in its last two games (56-112).
• DU senior center Chris Clark will be facing his brother Jon - a freshman starting center at URI - in this his final home game.

HOMEBOYS

Like most college basketball teams, Duquesne has been much more effective playing at home. Below is a comparison of some key stats both at home and on the road:

SHOOTING STRAIGHT

Duquesne has ranked near the top of Atlantic 10 in 3-point shooting percentage all season. DU's 37.1% mark is made even more impressive when you include the fact that the Dukes were 17-of-48 (35.4%) from the experimental 20'6" arc in three games at the Puerto Rico Shootout. In all, four different DU players are shooting at 40 percent or better from the 3-point arc led by Jimmy Tricco's 44.1 percent. Duquesne's 3-point prowess is on pace to be the best in school history:

"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 became 29th 1,000-point scorer in school history with 21 points at Fordham on Feb. 15. Forney enters the URI game with 1,071 career points. He needs 21 to pass Jim Tucker (1,091, 1952-54) and move into the No. 24 spot.