Jan. 29, 2005

Recap | Box Score | Notes

Duquesne head coach Danny Nee

"This was a really big win for us. I thought it was a great college basketball game, very hard-fought and competitive. Steven Smith is a very, very high-level player. I thought we did a decent job on him. I have total respect for him. We cannot handle him on the block with just one guy. I thought the key for us was our changing defenses. We used everything we had in the bag.

"Everyone who played in the game for us contributed. In the first half we had a lot of patience. There may have been only one quick shot in the first half. We got a lot of touches inside."

Duquesne center Kieron Achara:

"I've taken more charges this year than I've taken in my life. It was one of those 50/50 calls. I saw the official's hand go up and was happy we got the call.

"I knew I was going get a lot more open today. Coach said I was passing too much. He told me to be strong and take the ball to the basket."

Duquesne guard Martin Osimani

"We keyed on him [Steven Smith] the whole game. We tried to make the other guys beat us. They were in a diamond-and-two so we tried to open the floor and free up Kieron in the middle.

"It helps us a lot more when I can score. I've got just 10 more games left and that's it. So I'm trying to make the best of it."