Jan. 27, 2005
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DUQUESNE (5-14, 2-4) at LA SALLE (5-12, 1-5)
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005 - 2:05 p.m. (EST)
Tom Gola Arena (4,000) • Philadelphia, Pa.
TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.RedZoneMedia.com
DUKES START ROAD TRIP AT LA SALLE
Duquesne (5-14, 2-4), which completed a
three-game homestand with an 83-70 win over St. Bonaventure on Sunday, hits
the road for the first of three in a row on the road at La Salle (5-12,
1-5) on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2:05 p.m. (1410 KQV-AM &
www.redzonemedia.com). Following the La Salle game, the Dukes will head
directly to Virginia to face Richmond on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Duquesne used 19
points from Kieron Achara and 17 from Bryant McAllister to snap a four-game
losing streak with the win over the Bonnies. DU held SBU to an opponent
low 33 second-half points and forced an opponent high 22 turnovers in the
win. Duquesne is 1-7 on the road this season, including a 1-1 mark in
Atlantic 10 play. La Salle, which is 2-6 at home, is coming off a 78-71
loss to Richmond at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday. La Salle (0-9) and
Richmond (0-3) are the only two current A-10 members DU has yet to defeat
on the road in league play.
DUKES vs. EXPLORERS
La Salle, winner of the last six meetings, leads the
overall series 31-23 ... at Pittsburgh, Duquesne holds a 16-9 edge, while
at Philadelphia La Salle leads 21-5 ... at neutral sites DU leads 2-1 ...
the home team had won 12 in a row (six each) before La Salle ended the
streak with a 62-54 win at the Palumbo Center on Jan. 16, 2002 - beginning
a streak of three-straight season sweeps ... the 2001-02 sweep was the
first by either school since La Salle joined the A-10 in 1995-96 ...
Duquesne's last win at La Salle came on Jan. 20, 1979 by a 90-89 count when
the Explorers were members of the East Coast Conference (a span of 12
games) ... the DU/La Salle series dates back to Feb. 10, 1940.
DUQUESNE LATELY
- Jack Higgins is averaging 15.0 ppg. in three games since
returning following a bout with pneumonia ... Higgins, who missed the first
three A-10 games, is shooting 50% from the field and is 9-of-18 from the
arc in league play
- Bryant McAllister has scored 30 of his last 35
points in the second half of DU's last two games (16 of 18 vs. Rhode Island
and 14 of 17 vs. St. Bonaventure) ... McAllister's 18.8 ppg. in conference
play ranks second in the A-10
- Tyler Bluemling has 31 assists and just 5
turnovers in his last 10 games (a 6.2-to-1 ratio) ... he is shooting 51.6
percent from the field (12-of-25 from the arc) and averaging 7.8 ppg. in
A-10 play
- Kieron Achara just missed his sixth double-double of the
season with 19 pts. and 9 rebs. vs. SBU
- Duquesne is shooting 77.2% from
the foul line ... the mark is the fourth-best in the nation
- Head Coach
Danny Nee has used 10 different starting lineups ... all 11 scholarship
players have started at least once
FOUL PLAY
Duquesne, which is looking to snap a six-game series losing
streak against La Salle, can look at the Explorers' ability to get to the
free throw line as a game key. In the six wins, La Salle has scored just
under one-third of its total points from the foul line in outscoring the
Dukes 143-67. La Salle has made 45 more free throws than Duquesne has
attempted in the last six meetings between the two:
LA SALLE DUQUESNE
FREE THROW ATT. FT-FTA FT-FTA
Totals Last 6 g. 143-184 67-98
Averages 23.8-30.7 11.2-16.3
FT Percentage 77.8% 68.4%
THREE FALL
In two losses to La Salle last season, Duquesne was a combined
4-of-25 (16.0%) from the 3-point arc (1-of-14 at Philadelphia).
Various aches and sprains have plagued Duquesne this season. So
far, six different players have missed a total of 15 games due to
everything from mononucleosis, to sprained ankles to returning late from
Christmas break. The latest casualty is forward Keith Gayden who
aggravated a pre-existing shoulder injury in practice and was not in
uniform for the St. Bonaventure game on Jan. 23. Gayden's status for the
La Salle game will be re-evaluated this week.
DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES
Bryant McAllister, who has scored in double figures
in 16 of DU's 19 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) ... his 18.8 ppg. scoring average in conference play
ranks second in the league ... he has scored 30 of his last 35 points in
the second half (16 of 18 vs. URI and 14 of 17 vs. SBU) ... McAllister, who
has 40 steals (2.11 spg.), is one of just four A-10 players averaging over
two steals per game ... the Dukes are 3-0 when McAllister attempts 10 or
more free throws in a game
Kieron Achara, who opened conference play
with a career-high 23 points to go along with a career high-tying 11
rebounds in the double-overtime win at Dayton, has been up-and-down in six
league games ... he followed the Dayton game with 12 points vs. George
Washington before going scoreless in 17 minutes at Xavier (0-of-3 from the
field) ... Achara, who was slowed at Xavier by a thigh bruise suffered at
morning shootaround, played just five minutes in the second half ... he
rallied to post a game-high 16 points vs. Dayton on Jan. 15 before scoring
6 points on 2-of-4 shooting in 27 minutes vs. Rhode Island ... he then
scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the win over St.
Bonaventure last Sunday ... the Stirling, Scotland native, who is shooting
a team-best 54.8 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) ... (Saint Joseph's Dwayne
Jones (8) is the only A-10 player with more double-doubles than Achara)
Martin Osimani needs one more 10-assist game for the school career record
... Osimani, who will be playing in his 49th career game at La Salle,
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 6.2 ppg. clip this year ... 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 118 point total ... Osimani, who is 31-of-35
from the line this season, saw a streak of 20 consecutive free throws made
snapped vs. Youngstown State ... the JC transfer had a streak of 17 free
throws made in a row last year ... Osimani, who has a team-high 92 assists
(1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio), is 2-of-16 from the arc and averaging 3.4
ppg. over his last five games
Senior guard Tyler Bluemling has scored
97 points in 19 games this season ... his point total in 17 appearances
last year was 24 ... he has 46 assists and 18 turnovers as the back-up at
the point guard spot (2.6-to-1 ratio) and is tied for second on the team
with a career single-season high 23 3-point field goals ... he has handed
out 20 assists with just three turnovers in five Atlantic 10 games ... his
gaudy 6.67-to-1 assist-to-turnover is the best in the league by far in
conference play ... in his last 10 games, Bluemling has 31 assists and 5
turnovers in an average of 20.9 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 eight 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 Jan. 15 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 ... he followed that with a season-high 20 points (4-of-7
from 3-point) in 23 minutes vs. URI and scored 11 of the Dukes first 12
points in finishing with 15 points vs. St. Bonaventure ... he is shooting
50.0% from the field (9-of-18 from the arc) and averaging 15.0 ppg. since
his return
Freshman Chauncey Duke, who missed the game at Xavier and
Dayton home game with complications from a stomach virus, saw his first
action in 11 days vs. URI ... Duke, who has just three turnovers in 285
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 eight games,
152 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 ... he
added 9 points in 17 minutes off the bench vs. St. Bonaventure ... Duke was
6-of-6 from the line vs. SBU ... his six attempts were two more than his
season total (2-of-4) entering the game ... Duke started the season 7-of-14
from the 3-point arc (seven g.), before going 1-of-14 from long distance in
his next nine outings ... Duke ended a one-month drought by hitting his
only 3-point attempt vs. St. Bonaventure on Jan. 23 (he hadn't hit a "3"
since the second half of the Dec. 22 Boston College game - a span of five
games played)
Fellow freshman DeVario Hudson has gotten off to a slow
start in conference play averaging 6.0 ppg. on 30.9 percent shooting ... he
showed signs of breaking out with 10 points in 28 minutes off the bench vs.
Rhode Island and followed that with 9 points and 5 boards vs. St.
Bonaventure ... 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, made his first
career start vs. Rhode Island (one rebound in nine minutes) ... he is
averaging 12.2 min./g. in conference play ... he scored 8 points in 14
minutes at Dayton on Jan. 5
Duquesne is 5-3 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 0-11 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 5-0
when scoring 75 or more.
JACK IS BACK
Jack Higgins, who had a streak of 36 consecutive games
played snapped when he missed Duquesne's first three Atlantic 10 games with
pneumonia, was averaging 4.8 ppg. at home (8.6 ppg. overall) at the time
of the illness. In fact prior to being forced to the sidelines, all five
of his double digit scoring games had come on the road (15 vs. Santa Clara
at Albuquerque, 12 at New Mexico, 17 at Pitt, 18 at Ohio and 11 at Robert
Morris). Since his return, Higgins has reversed his fortunes by scoring in
double digits in three consecutive home games (10 vs. Dayton, 20 vs. Rhode
Island and 15 vs. St. Bonaventure). In three games back, Higgins is
averaging 15.0 ppg. on 50.0 percent shooting (17-of-34). Higgins, who
began the year as the Atlantic 10's No. 2 returning 3-point shooter at .456
(41-of-90), has also found his outside scoring touch, going 9-of-18 from
the 3-point arc during his comeback to bring his season percentage up to
37.8 percent.
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS AT LA SALLE
| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | G/GS | Hometown | Quick Facts
| 25 | F | DeVario Hudson | 6-6 | Fr. | 7.4 | 4.6 | 18/9 | Decatur, Ga. | 19 points and 11 rebounds in last two games
| 42 | C | Kieron Achara | 6-9 | So. | 12.6 | 6.4 | 19/19 | Stirling, Scotland | Shooting team-best 54.8%; has five double-doubles
| 23 | G | Jack Higgins | 6-5 | Jr. | 9.8 | 1.9 | 16/7 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Averaging 15.0 ppg. (50% from field) in A-10 play
| 22 | G | Bryant McAllister | 6-3 | Jr. | 16.6 | 3.9 | 19/19 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 18.8 ppg. average in conference play leads A-10
| 5 | G | Martin Osimani | 6-4 | Sr. | 6.2 | 1.7 | 19/18 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Career 5.50 apg. avg. second only to Norm Nixon's 5.55
| | | | | |
OFF THE BENCH
| 32 | G | Tyler Bluemling | 6-2 | Sr. | 5.1 | 1.8 | 19/4 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 20 assists & 3 turnovers best in league play
| 34 | F | Keith Gayden | 6-8 | Jr. | 5.8 | 3.9 | 17/5 | Chicago, Ill. | JC transfer missed St. Bonaventure game with shoulder injury
| 4 | G | Chauncey Duke | 6-6 | Fr. | 3.2 | 2.2 | 17/8 | Springfield, Mo. | 9 pts. vs. SBU were most since 9 vs. Akron on Dec. 1
| 25 | F | Sean McKeon | 6-10 | Fr. | 2.6 | 1.3 | 13/1 | Phoenixville, Pa. | Averaging 12.2 minutes per game in conference play
| 20 | G | Ryan Tricco | 6-4 | Jr. | 2.1 | 1.1 | 16/3 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Has played in 45 of a possible 48 games since transferring
| 33 | F | Jon Pawlak | 6-9 | Sr. | 2.3 | 3.5 | 7/2 | Natrona Heights, Pa. | Has seen action in one A-10 game (Jan. 19 vs. URI)
| | | | | |
