Jan. 18, 2005

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DUKES HOST RHODE ISLAND

Duquesne (4-13, 1-3), coming off a 71-60 loss to Dayton on Saturday, continues its three-game homestand against Rhode Island (3-11, 1-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7:05 p.m. (1410 KQV-AM & RedZoneMedia.com).

The Rams are the first Atlantic 10 East Division opponent for the Dukes this year. Duquesne is 2-5 at home this season (0-2 in the Atlantic 10). Rhode Island, which dropped a 65-55 decision at Richmond on Saturday, is 0-7 on the road. This is the third of three road games in 12 days for the Rams, and second of three-straight home games for the Dukes.

BEASTS VS. THE EAST

Rhode Island is the first of six Atlantic 10 East Division opponents on the 2004-05 schedule. Last year, Duquesne went (5-2) vs. the A-10 East, with wins at URI and St. Bonaventure and home victories over Massachusetts and Fordham. DU's fifth East win came in the A-10 Championship opening round over UMass.

DUKES vs. RAMS

Duquesne leads the all-time series 22-21, including a 12-7 edge in games played at Pittsburgh ... in A-10 regular-season games, the Dukes also lead the series by one, 19-18 ... the two teams have split the last six meetings ... last year, Jack Higgins scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Duquesne to a 72-55 win at Rhode Island ... the 17-point margin of victory tied the largest by a Duquesne team in a conference road game (DU defeated URI 79-62 at Kingston on Jan. 19, 1994) ... Rhode Island won the last meeting at Pittsburgh by a 76-71 count on Mar. 8, 2003.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Bryant McAllister, the Jan. 10 Atlantic 10 co-Player of the Week, was up-and-down in two outings last week ... the junior guard hit a career-high 5 3-pointers in scoring 27 points in the loss at Xavier, then was held to 6 points on 2-of-9 shooting before fouling out with 4:21 left in the 71-60 loss to Dayton ... despite the stumble versus Dayton, McAllister begins the week leading A-10 scorers in league play at 19.5 ppg.
• Tyler Bluemling, who has started the last three games for the ailing Chauncey Duke (complications from a stomach virus), has 26 assists and just 4 turnovers in his last eight games (a 6.5-to-1 ratio) ... he is shooting 50.0 percent and averaging 8.0 ppg. in A-10 play
• Kieron Achara, who suffered a bruised thigh at shootaround the day of the Xavier game and was scoreless in 17 minutes vs. the Musketeers, bounced back with a team-high 16 points & 6 rebounds vs. Dayton
• DU is shooting 77.7% from the foul line ... the mark is the fourth-best in the nation.

Rhode Island is adjusting to life without Dawan Robinson, a preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 pick who missed the first eight games of the season with a broken foot before returning and playing one minute in a Nov. 27 game vs. Iona and re-injuring the foot sidelining him for the season ... 6-8 senior F Scott Hazelton has helped fill the scoring void with a team-high 16.2 ppg. ... Hazelton, who has scored in double digits 11 times, has led the team in scoring nine times in 14 games ... URI has used seven different starting lineups, with 11 players making at least one start ... Duquesne has seen 10 players combine to form eight different starting fives.

SICK BAY

Jack Higgins (pneumonia) made his first appearance since New Year's Eve for Duquesne Saturday afternoon against Dayton. Higgins, who missed a total of three games, came off the bench to score 10 points in 20 minutes versus the Flyers. The return of Higgins provided a much-needed boost to the Dukes who were without freshman forward Chauncey Duke (complications from a stomach virus) for the second consecutive game. Various aches and sprains have plagued Duquesne this season. So far, a total of five different players have missed a total of 13 games due to everything from mononucleosis to sprained ankles.

FTA = SUCCESS

In four wins this season, Duquesne has attempted an average of 26.5 free throws (84-of-106). In 13, losses, the Dukes have gone to the line an average of 12.2 times (122-of-159).

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

• Kieron Achara rebounded from a scoreless 17-minute performance at Xavier (0-of-3 from the field) to post a game-high 16 points vs. Dayton on Saturday ... Achara was slowed at Xavier by a thigh bruise suffered at morning shootaround ... he played just five minutes in the second half at XU ... he was 5-of-9 from the field and 6-of-7 from the foul line vs. Dayton ... Achara scored a career-high 23 points in 36 minutes of DU's 94-93 double-overtime win at Dayton on Jan. 5 ... the Stirling, Scotland native, who is shooting a team-best 54.2 percent from the field, has posted double-doubles five times this season (10-11 at New Mexico, 11-10 vs. Lafayette, 15-11 at George Mason, 16-11 vs. UMBC and 23-11 at Dayton)
• Martin Osimani needs one more 10-assist game for the school career record ... Osimani, who will be playing in his 47th career game vs. URI, shares the record for career 10 assist games with Clayton Adams who posted four in 109 career games between 1988-91 ... Osimani, who averaged 4.6 ppg. last season, is scoring at a 6.8 ppg. clip this season ... he has scored a career-high 16 points twice (at New Mexico and vs. Lafayette) ... his career high entering the season was 11 ... last year, it took Osimani 27 games to reach his current 116-point total ... Osimani, who is 31-of-35 from the line this season, saw a streak of 20 consecutive free throws made snapped in the Youngstown State game ... the JC transfer had a streak of 17 free throws made in a row last year ... Osimani, who has a team-high 80 assists and 46 turnovers on the season, has 14 assists and 11 turnovers in four A-10 games
• Senior guard Tyler Bluemling has scored 82 points in 17 games this season ... his point total in 17 appearances last year was 24 ... he has 41 assists and 17 turnovers as the back-up at the point guard spot (2.41-to-1 ratio) and is third on the team with 19 3-point field goals ... has handed out 15 assists with just two turnovers in four Atlantic 10 games ... his gaudy 7.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover is the best in the league in conference play ... in his last eight games, Bluemling has 26 assists and 4 turnovers in an average of 21.4 min./g. ... he had 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 0 turnovers 29 minutes at Dayton ... he scored all 10 of his points in the last 1:07 of regulation and first 1:26 of the first overtime period (at total span of 2:33) ... he added a career-high 5 assists in a start vs. George Washington and scored 10 more at Xavier in 25 turnover-free minutes ... he followed that with 9 points (all on 3-pointers), 5 assists and 0 turnovers vs. Dayton at home ... he has hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the Dukes' last six games
• Jack Higgins, who saw his streak of 36-straight games played ended when he missed the game at Dayton due to pneumonia, made his return on Saturday vs. Dayton ... Higgins, who was also not in uniform for the George Washington & Xavier games, scored 10 points (on a team-high 10 shots) in 20 minutes off the bench vs. UD
• Bryant McAllister, who has scored in double figures in 14 of DU's 17 games, has topped the 20 point mark five times this season (24 vs. Lafayette, 21 vs. Akron, a career-high 30 vs. UMBC, 26 at Dayton and 27 at Xavier) ... he is averaging an Atlantic 10-best 19.5 ppg. in conference play, despite a foul-plagued, 6-point outing vs. Dayton on Saturday ... McAllister, who has 34 steals (2.0 spg.), is one of just four A-10 players averaging over two steals per game
• Freshman Chauncey Duke, who missed DU's last two games with complications from a stomach virus, was cleared to practice Monday afternoon ... he practiced for the first time in eight days on Tuesday ... Duke, who has just three turnovers in 260 total minutes on the season, has not turned it over since the second half of the UMBC game on Dec. 11 (that's no turnovers in his last six games, 127 total minutes) ... Duke, who pulled down a career-high 7 rebounds vs. Youngstown State added 7 points at Dayton including a driving layup with :05 left in the second overtime that proved to be the game-winner
• Fellow freshman DeVario Hudson has gotten off to a slow start in conference play averaging 4.3 ppg. on 25.8 percent shooting ... Hudson had scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his two games prior to the A-10 opener at Dayton (17 at Boston College and 12 vs. Youngstown State)
• Redshirt freshman Sean McKeon, who missed four late November-early December games with mononucleosis, is averaging 13.3 min./g. in conference play ... he scored 8 points in 14 minutes at Dayton on Jan. 5 ... Duquesne has used seven different starting lineups, with 10 different players starting at least once ... Duquesne is 4-3 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 0-10 when scoring fewer than 70 ... when holding opponents under 70 points, the Dukes are 3-0 ... if you want to go five points higher, consider that DU is 4-0 when scoring 75 or more.

Duquesne senior guard Tyler Bluemling has emerged as an important part of the Dukes' puzzle this season. The Pittsburgh native, who was named a tri-captain prior to the season, is averaging 19.4 minutes per game as a back-up at the point guard spot. Bluemling, who scored 24 points in 17 games last season (6.2 min./g.), has scored 82 total points in DU's first 17 games and is third on the team with 19 3-point field goals. He played a major role in Duquesne's 94-93 double overtime win at Dayton, scoring all 10 of his points in the last 1:07 of regulation and first 1:26 of the first overtime (a total span of 2:33). Bluemling, who is averaging 8.0 ppg. in conference play, has handed out 26 assists while turning it over just four times in Duquesne's last eight games (a 6.5-to-1 ratio). For the season his assist-to-turnover ratio stands at a solid 2.4-to-1 (41-to-17).

WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES ... OR DO WE?

Duquesne freshman swingman Chauncey Duke has just three turnovers in 260 minutes played this season (that's one turnover every five games). Duke, who joined the Dukes' starting lineup seven games into the season, has not turned it over since the second half of the UMBC game on Dec. 11. That's no turnovers in his last six games spanning 127 total minutes.