Nov. 23, 2005

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DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
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DUQUESNE HITS THE ROAD TO FACE OAKLAND

Duquesne (0-1), coming off a 64-56 season-opening home loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday, heads west to face one of the surprise teams from last year's NCAA Tournament in the Oakland Grizzlies (2-1) at 6:00 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Nov. 26 (KQV-AM 1410 radio / www.RedZoneMedia.com).

Oakland, which earned a bid to the 2005 NCAA Tourney by winning the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament, returns two starters from last year's 13-19 squad. Oakland, which has been off since Nov. 19, already has three games under its belt, finishing third in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Gainesville, Fla. on Nov. 9-10 (a 90-73 loss to Albany followed by a 72-69 win over Saint Peter's). The Grizzlies won their second in a row, defeating Notre Dame College 102-74 in their home opener last Saturday.

Duquesne will be attempted to bounce back from a disappointing loss to UAPB. The Dukes shot just 38.6 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers in dropping to 70-4 all-time in season-opening games played at home.

DUKES AND GRIZZLIES

This is the first meeting between Duquesne and Oakland ... it is also DU's first game against a member of the Mid-Continent Conference ... Duquense faced three of the nine teams that make up the current conference prior to the league's inception in 1982-83: the Dukes took on Valparaiso in 1933 & 1947 (2-0), Chicago State in 1973 (1-0) and Oral Roberts in 1979 & 1980 (1-1).

WATCH OUT FOR WOOTEN

Junior guard Calvin Wooten, a first-year transfer from Rutgers, has been the early season star for Oakland with 85 points in the Grizzlies' three games. The Detroit native, who has led OU in scoring in all three games, totaled 39 in the opener vs. Albany, added 22 vs. Saint Peter's and 24 more against Notre Dame College. Wooten, who hit nine 3-pointers against Albany, is shooting 14-of-27 from the arc (.519).

TWO VETERANS

Duquesne head coach Danny Nee and Oakland head coach Greg Kampe (pronounced Campy) bring 46 years of experience into Saturday's game. Nee, who is in his 26th season, has posted 407 career wins, while Kampe, in his 22nd year, posted career win number 350 vs. Saint Peter's on Nov. 10. Nee and Campe have 1,372 games of experience between them.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne welcomes back top returning scorer Bryant McAllister (16.1 ppg.), who missed the season-opening loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff whle serving the final portion of a three-game suspension for an off-court incident this summer (McAllister also sat out Duquesne's two preseason scrimmages) ... the 6-3 senior guard, who was named first team preseason All-Atlantic 10, saw a string of 89 consecutive games played (every game of his DU career) snapped vs. UAPB
• True freshman Aaron Jackson started at the point in the opener ... the 6-2, 180-pound Jackson, who was the first true freshman to start a season opener for the Dukes since Aly Samabaly and Simplice Njoya both took the court for the 2001-02 opener vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, did not commit a turnover in 32 minutes (5 points & 2 assists)
• Sophomore transfer Ryan Lambert came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points (6-of-8 from the field) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff ... Lambert scored 11 in nine second-half minutes before fouling out with 4:05 left.

LAMBERT DEBUTS

Duquesne will be looking for big things from first-year Western Kentucky transfer Ryan Lambert. The 6-7, 200-pound sophomore, who practiced with the Dukes while sitting out last season, averaged 5.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in starting 20 of WKU's last 23 games in 2003-04. In the process, the Germantown, Md. native posted the second-highest freshman rebound total (134) in Western Kentucky school history behind the 275 boards posted by 7-1, 285-pound Chris Marcus in 1999-00. Lambert was part of the reason WKU finished the `04 season ranked sixth nationally in rebound margin. Lambert's arrival couldn't come at a better time for Duquesne, which ranked 261st nationally in rebound margin last year at -2.9 per game. Lambert scored a team-high 13 points in 20 minutes (6-of-8 from the field) before fouling out with 4:05 left in DU's 64-56 season-opening loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

* - McAllister's stats listed are from last season