March 8, 2003
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First Round
2003 ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP#6 West DUQUESNE (9-20, 4-12*) at #3 East RHODE ISLAND (17-10, 10-6*)
* Atlantic 10 record reflects a forfeit win over St. Bonaventure for each team
Monday, Mar. 10, 2003 - 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Kingston, RI - Ryan Center (7,800)
TELEVISION: Cox-3 (Rhode Island viewing area only)
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.redzonemedia.com
THE SEED
Sixth-seeded (West) Duquesne (9-20, 4-12) faces No. 3 (East) Rhode Island (17-10, 10-6) in the first round of the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship on Monday, March 10 at URI's Ryan Center (7:30 p.m. on KQV-AM 1410, on the internet at www.redzonemedia.com). It is the second meeting between the schools in just over 48 hours as the Rams defeated the Dukes 76-71 in the regular-season finale at Pittsburgh on Saturday.
This is the fifth time Duquesne has been seeded No. 6 in divisional seeding (1983, 1996-00, 2002-03). DU is looking for its first tournament win since an 82-69 first round victory over Rhode Island on March 4, 1995 at Philadelphia (a span of eight games). This is just the second A-10 Tournament meeting between the Rams and Dukes.
In Saturday's game, DU rallied from 25 down with 14:31 to go to pull with three three times in the last 4:26 put could not complete the comeback as URI hit 15-of-18 free throws over the last 4:05 to keep the Dukes at bay. Brian Woodward led URI with 22 points. Kevin Forney paced DU with 14.
THE BRACKET:
The winner of the Duquesne at Rhode Island game heads to Dayton, Ohio for a second round match-up vs. the West No. 2 seed host Dayton Flyers on Thursday, March 13 (approx. 9:00 p.m.). The game, which will be the second of the evening session, will start 20 minutes after the 7:05 p.m. opener. The second round game, which will be televised by the Atlantic 10 Network, will not air in Pittsburgh.
DUKES AND RAMS
Duquesne leads the series 21-20. URI enjoys a 13-8 edge in games played at home. In Atlantic 10 Tournament games DU leads 1-0. 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 four meetings. The two have met just once in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with #8 Duquesne defeating #9 Rhode Island 82-69 in a first round game at The Palestra in Philadelphia on Mar 4, 1995.
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 4 | F | Elijah Palmer | 6-7 | Jr. | 9.6 | 5.5 | Marshall, Mo. | JC transfer has scored in double figures 13 times; DU is 7-6 in those games |
| 14 | F | Simplice Njoya | 6-10 | So. | 7.7 | 4.9 | Yaound?, Cameroon | Third career double-double (2nd this season) with 11points and 12 rebounds vs. URI on Sat. |
| 41 | C | Ron Dokes | 6-9 | Jr. | 10.2 | 5.1 | South Bend, Ind. | JC transfer shooting 58.7% from field in last six games (27-46, 10.8 ppg.) |
| 44 | G | Jimmy Tricco | 6-8 | Jr. | 10.3 | 3.3 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Gonzaga transfer has hit five or more "3's" in a game six times |
| 22 | G | Bryant McAllister | 6-3 | Fr. | 7.4 | 2.1 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | True freshman scored all 11 points in second half vs. URI on Saturday |
OFF THE BENCH
| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 20 | G | Kevin Forney | 6-4 | Sr. | 13.4 | 3.3 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,085 career points; needs 10 to move into 23rd spot on all-time list |
| 21 | F | Brad Midgley | 6-5 | Sr. | 6.4 | 3.5 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Team-high 114 games played ranks tied for 2nd on DU's all-time list |
| 32 | G | Tyler Bluemling | 6-2 | So. | 1.6 | 0.8 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Played in all 28 games last season; averaging 5.5 minutes per game in A-10 play |
| 42 | F/C | Chris Clark | 6-10 | Sr. | 0.7 | 1.1 | Toronto, Ontario | Brother of URI freshman center Jon Clark; averaging 7.6 minutes per game as a back-up center |
DUQUESNE LATELY
- Nineteen of DU's 29 games this season have been decided by single digits (as opposed to eight of 28 games last year).
- Simplice Njoya posted his third career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds vs. URI on Saturday.
- Bryant McAllister scored all 11 of his points vs. the Rams in the second half.
- Underclassmen account for just under 70% of Duquesne's total points.
- DU is averaging 10.7 ppg. fewer points per game on the road (71.9-to-61.2).
- As a team, the Dukes are shooting 32.4% from the 3-point arc on the road (as opposed to 40.9% at home).
- Duquesne shot 58.6% in the second half of Saturday's loss to the Rams.
- DU held URI to one field goal in the last 14:31 of Saturday's game (the Rams went 20-of-25 from the foul line during that time).
LEAGUE FINISH
Duquesne finished the regular season sixth in the A-10 West with a 4-12 record. The Dukes went 2-6 at home (a home loss to St. Bonaventure was later forfeited) and 1-7 on the road.
RECORD CHANGES
Last 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. DU's overall record remains unchanged. The overall record can only be changed through action of the NCAA.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
The Atlantic 10 Television Network will air all quarterfinal and semifinal games from Dayton. The championship game will be carried live by ESPN. Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh is scheduled to carry games No. 5, 6 & 9 locally. The Rhode Island game will be televised in the Rhode Island area only by Cox-3.
ANOTHER NEW ARENA
This will be Duquesne's first game at Rhode Island's new Ryan Center (7,800) which opened this season. The trip to Kingston completes a hat trick of new arenas for the Dukes this year. Duquesne opened the season on November 23 as Pittsburgh's first opponent at its new Petersen Events Center (12,500). Seven days later, on November 30, the Dukes traveled to Maryland to face the Terps in their brand new Comcast Center (17,100). Duquesne is 8-13 all time in games played at Kingston.
DUQUESNE BY THE NUMBERS| 1 | Number of Atlantic 10 coaches with more experience and wins than Duquesne's Danny Nee. Only Temple Hall of Famer John Chaney (675 wins entering this, his 31st, season) has coached more college games than Nee who began his 23rd campaign with 377 victories. |
| 3 | Number of international players on the Duquesne roster (Chris Clark from Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Simplice Njoya from Yaound?, Cameroon and Aly Samabaly from Bamako, Mali). |
| 5 | Number of times guard Jimmy Tricco has hit five or more three-pointers in a game 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). |
| 8 | Game series losing streak DU snapped with a 61- 54 win over Temple on Jan. 8. It was the Dukes' first win over the Owls since Jan. 30, 1995. |
| 17.1 | Wins per season average of head coach Danny Nee. Nee is 377-298 in 22 seasons as a head coach. |
| 20 | Size adidas basketball shoe worn by 6-9, 240- pound junior college transfer forward/center Ron Dokes. |
| 24 | Year drought between in-season tournament titles snapped by the 2002-03 Dukes. DU ended the streak by taking the FIU New Year's Classic championship with wins over St. Francis, N.Y. and host Florida International on Dec. 27-28. The last time Duquesne had won an in-season tournament was in December of 1978 when the Dukes took the West Virginia Classic (DU had played in 16 tournaments spanning 24 years prior to the two wins at Miami). |
| 29 | Points scored by Dokes in Duquesne's 86-82 win over West Virginia on Nov. 27. The point total was the highest by a DU "big man" since 6-10 Derrick Alston posted 30 vs. Detroit Mercy in the opening round of the 1993 MCC Tournament. 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. He is currently playing professionally in Spain. |
| 50 | Number of games first-year junior guard Jimmy Tricco played in his two seasons at Gonzaga. Tricco, who transferred to Duquesne in August of 2001, was part of two NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams (2000 & 2001) while with the Zags. Tricco was able to practice with the Dukes last season. |
| 114 | team-high number of games played by senior forward Brad Midgley. The total ranks tied for second on DU's all time list with Effrem Whitehead and Derrick Alston. |
| 287 | Number of consecutive games in which Duquesne has hit at least one 3-pointer (dating back to a 59-57 win over Detroit in the MCC Tournament on Mar. 11, 1993 {0-16}). |
| 1,085 | Career points for senior guard Kevin Forney. Forney, who became the 29th member of Duquesne's 1,000- point club on Feb. 15 at Fordham, currently ranks 25th on DU's all-time leading scorers' list. |
THE TOURNAMENT
MONDAY, MARCH 10 --- OPENING ROUND
at site of higher seeded team | Game 1 | W5 Geo. Wash. | at E4 UMass | 7:00 |
| Game 2 | W3 Richmond | bye | |
| Game 3 | E5 Fordham | at W4 La Salle | 7:00 |
| Game 4 | W6 Duquesne | at E3 Rhode Island | 7:30 |
THUR., MAR. 13 QUARTERFINAL
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
| Game 5 | Game 1 winner vs. | W1Xavier | 12:05 |
| Game 6 | W3 Richmond vs. | E2 Temple | 2:00 |
| Game 7 | Game 3 winner vs. | E1 Saint Joseph's | 7:05 |
| Game 8 | Game 4 winner vs. | W2 Dayton | 9:00 |
FRI., MAR. 14 SEMIFINAL
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
| Game 9 | Game 5 winner vs. | Game 6 winner | 7:05 |
| Game 10 | Game 7 winner vs. | Game 8 winner | 9:00 |
SAT., MAR. 15 FINAL
University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
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- | 1,085 |
| 24. 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 |
MOST CAREER GAMES
| NUMBER | PLAYER| FR/S0/JR/SR | YEARS| 120 | Tony Petrarca | 29/5*/29/29/28 | 1987-91 | | 114 | BRAD MIDGLEY | 29/30/27/29# | 2000-present | | Derrick Alston | 28/28/28/30 | 1991-94 | | Effrem Whitehead | 28/28/28/30 | 1991-94 | | 113 | Brian Shanahan | 29/29/26/29 | 1986-89 | | 112 | Wayne Smith | 28/29/28/27 | 1999-2002 | | Tom Pipkins | 30/28/27/27 | 1994-97 | | Kevin Price | 28/27/27/30 | 1995-98 | | Andy Sisinni | 30/26/28/28 | 1981-84 | | 111 | Dick Ricketts | 27/29/29/26 | 1952-55 | | John Moore | 27/28/26/30 | 1977-81 | | Bruce Atkins | 26/28/30/27 | 1979-1982 | | Mike James | 27/27/27/30 | 1005-98 | | Shawn Tann | 30/27/28/26 | 1998-2001 |
* Petrarca was granted an extra season (foot injury) after playing in only five games in 1987-88
# current year
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MOST ASSISTS BY A FRESHMAN
| ASSIST | PLAYER| G/GS | AVG | YEAR | | 163 | Clayton Adams | 32/32 | 5.09 | 1988 | | 144 | Norm Nixon | 24/24 | 6.00 | 1974 | | 135 | Brian Shanahan | 29/15 | 4.66 | 1986 | | 107 | Tony Petrarca | 29/13 | 3.69 | 1987 | | 87 | Andy Sisinni | 30/24 | 2.90 | 1981 | | 82 | Tom Pipkins | 30/29 | 2.70 | 1994 | | 82 | Ganon Baker | 27/22 | 3.04 | 1992 | | 80 | Courtney Wallace | 20/12 | 4.00 | 1998 | | 77 | BRYANT MCALLISTER | 29/21 | 2.65 | 2003 | | 77 | Collins Dobbs | 30/21 | 2.57 | 1985 | | 61 | Bruce Atkins | 26/26 | 2.35 | 1979 | | 59 | Effrem Whitehead | 28/11 | 2.11 | 1991 | | 57 | Wayne Smith | 28/27 | 2.04 | 1999 |
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