Jan. 11, 2006

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DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
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DUQUESNE HOSTs RICHMOND:

Duquesne (2-11, 0-2), coming off an 82-63 loss to Massachusetts on

Saturday completes its mini two-game homestand versus Richmond (7-7, 0-1) on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:05 p.m. (KQV-AM 1410/www.RedZoneMedia.com). The Dukes are looking to snap a five-game losing streak against a Richmond team that opened conference play with a 67-56 home loss to La Salle on Saturday. This is the first Atlantic 10 road game for the Spiders who are 0-3 on the road (and 1-1 at neutral sites) this season.

DUKES AND SPIDERS

The series is tied at 8-8, with all eight Duquesne victories coming

before Richmond joined the Atlantic 10 ... Richmond, a former member of the Colonial Athletic Association, joined the A-10 prior to the 2001-02 season and has defeated the Dukes eight straight times in league play ... in the first meeting last season, Daon Merritt answered a Martin Osimani 3-pointer by racing the length of the court in the final six seconds to hit an acrobatic one-handed shot with eight-tenths of a second remaining to give Richmond a 72-71 win at Robins Center ... in the return match at the Palumbo Center, Kevin Steenburge went 8-of-10 from the field in scoring 19 in a 76-62 Richmond win ... Bryant McAllister scored 27 for the Dukes in a losing cause ... the DU/UR series dates back to a 37-29 Duquesne win on Jan. 12, 1937 ... the Spiders are in their first season under head coach Chris Mooney, who led Air Force to an 18-12 record in 2004-05 ... during his five seasons at Air Force, including four as an assistant/associate head coach, the Falcons led the nation in scoring defense three times ... Mooney played collegiately for Pete Carril at Princeton from 1991-94.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Senior guard Bryant McAllister, who scored a career high-tying 30 points vs. Troy on Dec. 30, is averaging a team-best 18.4 ppg. ... the Pittsburgh native enters the Richmond game 18th on Duquesne's all-time leading scorer's list with 1,254 points ... he needs 82 to pass Emmett Sellers and move into the No. 17 spot ... McAllister, who is seeing extensive playing time at the point this season, is also averaging a team-high 4.92 apg. ... he has tied his career assist high twice in his last six games with nine vs. both The Citadel and Appalachian State ... McAllister, ranks second in the A-10 in both scoring and assists
• Sophomore center Sean McKeon posted career high 11 points in 18 minutes of action vs. UMass on Saturday ... the 6-10, 250-pounder, who had four assists in 24 games last season (285 minutes), handed out a team-high four vs. the Minutemen
• Duquesne is 3-of-16 (18.8%) from the 3-point arc in its last two games

MORE ON RICHMOND

Richmond, picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 in a preseason poll of league coaches and media, is in its first season under head coach Chris Mooney ... Mooney, who played at Princeton and was an assistant (1991-94) and head coach at Air Force (1995) prior to accepting the position at Richmond, has brought the "Princeton Style" of basketball to the A-10 ... through 14 games, the Spiders rank first in the league in scoring defense (53.6 ppg.), second in 3-point attempts per game 21.6 (302 in 14 games) and last in scoring offense (50.7 ppg.) ... UR has been effective enough to hold a pair of nationally ranked up-tempo teams to low point totals in a 53-45 loss at then-No. 22 (AP) Louisville on Dec. 5 and a 47-40 home defeat to then-No. 22 Wake Forest on Dec. 22 ... six-seven senior forward Jermaine Bucknor leads Richmond in both scoring and rebounding (11.9 ppg., 5.0 rpg.) ...six-eleven, 235-pound senior center Kevin Steenburge, a preseason second team All-Atlantic 10 pick, is averaging 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

MY, HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED

A quick glance at the nine-man Duquesne roster shows that things have changed dramatically since Atlantic 10 media day back on Nov. 3. Kieron Achara, the 2005 A-10 Chris Daniels Award winner (Most Improved Player) underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Dec. 15. The 6-9, 260-pound Achara, who was a preseason Second Team All-Atlantic 10 pick, played in three games before going under the knife. He ranks second on DU's all-time shot blocking list (81) and is also the seventh-most accurate shooter in school history at 52.4 percent. Ryan Lambert, a 6-7 first-year transfer from Western Kentucky was released from the team on Dec. 20. Lambert played in the first seven games of the season with three starts. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game. Finally, Jack Higgins, Duquesne's third-leading scorer for the past two seasons, will not be returning to the team in order to concentrate on academics. Higgins last game action was on Dec. 20. Higgins, who finishes his career tied for second on DU's all-time 3-point accuracy list (39.1%), averaged 9.3 points (16 3-pointers) in Duquesne's first eight games (six starts, 25.0 min./g.). Duquesne's current roster has just three true guards (Bryant McAllister, true freshman Aaron Jackson and fourth-year former walk on Adam Souply) "When I look at the team picture we took on Oct. 15," said Nee following the Duquesne Holiday Tournament on New Year's Eve, "I never dreamt that there would be that much change. We've got to play with the players we have, and I really like them, but we have to get good enough to win a game."

UMASS LEFTOVERS

Leftovers from the 82-63 loss to Massachusetts on Saturday ... Massachusetts' largest lead was 25 points at the 2:01 mark of the second half ... Duquesne managed just six free throws in missing its first nine shots in the first 10:16 of the second half ... UMass hit 10 of its first 14 field goal attempts to start the second half ... Sean McKeon scored a career-high 11 points, his previous career high was 10 at Boston College last season ... the 6-10 sophomore, who had four assists in 24 games last season, led the Dukes with four assists in 18 minutes of action ... Stephane Lasme and Rashaun Freeman combined for 16 of the Minutemen's first 26 points ... Adam Souply came off the bench to tie his career high with five points for the Dukes ... DU tied its season low with nine turnovers ... the Dukes attempted a season-low four 3-pointers ... Duquesne's previous low for 3-pointers attempted this season was 12 both at West Virginia and at La Salle ... DU's 48 field goal attempts and one 3-point make were also a season low ... redshirt freshman forward Brian Kelly suffered a cut lower lip in the first half ... he came back - three stitches later - to play seven minutes in the second half.

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

• Duquesne has used six different starting lineups in 13 games
• The Duquesne Holiday Tournament marked the first time this season that the Dukes started the same lineup for more than two consecutive games ... the unit of Duke, Hudson, Gayden, McAllister and Jackson has now started the last six in a row ... senior guard Bryant McAllister missed the opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff while serving a one-game suspension for an off-court incident over the summer ... sophomore swingman Chauncey Duke missed the game at Oakland to return to Missouri for his grandmother's funeral and junior pivotman Kieron Achara missed the Akron game with foot and shoulder injuries
• Achara - who played 20 minutes vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 13 - had surgery on his shoulder on Dec. 15 and is out for the remainder of the season
• Six-seven forward Ryan Lambert, a first-year sophomore transfer from Western Kentucky, was released from the team on Dec. 20 ... he played in each of the first seven games of the season (6.5 ppg., 3.5 rpg. in 23.0 min./g.)
• It was announced on Jan. 10 that senior guard Jack Higgins, who saw action in the first eight games of the season (9.3 ppg., 16 3-poiters, with six starts), would not be returning to the team for the second semester in order to concentrate on academics
• The evolving roster has led to starts for nine different players so far this season ... Sean McKeon, Ronnie Thomas and Adam Souply are the only current roster members who have not started
• Bryant McAllister, who has led the Dukes in scoring in nine of 13 games, is averaging 21.8 ppg. in Duquesne's last four games ... he is shooting is 46.6 percent from the field (27-of-58) and 45.0 percent from the 3-point arc (9-of-20) over that span ... he tied his career scoring high with 30 points vs. Troy in the first round of the Duquesne Holiday Tournament on Dec. 30 ... he has tied his career high of nine assists in two of the Dukes' last six games (vs. The Citadel and Appalachian State) ... McAllister ranks second in the A-10 in both scoring (18.4 ppg.) and assists (4.92 apg.) ... the only Duquesne player averaging over 30 minutes per game (31.4), McAllister leads the Dukes in assists (59) and steals (15) ... he has had at least five assists in eight of the 12 games he's played this year
• Sophomore forward DeVario Hudson, who entered the Holiday Tournament with back-to-back double-doubles vs. The Citadel (20-11) and Boston College (14-11) saw a streak of five consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped with five on 2-of-9 shooting vs. Troy ... Hudson, who shot 30.0 percent from the field for the tournament (6-of-20), bounced back to score 12 in the consolation game vs. Appalachian State ... he followed that with six points on 3-of-7 shooting in 22 foul-plagued minutes at La Salle and six more in 29 minutes vs. UMass ... he is shooting 47.9 percent from the field on the season
• Freshman point guard Aaron Jackson, who handed out a season-high seven assists vs. The Citadel on Dec. 20, has turned it over just 19 times in 362 total minutes (27.8 min/g.) ... the 6-2 Hartford, Conn. native grabbed six rebounds in 21 minutes vs. Pitt on Dec. 7 and followed that by hitting 5-of-6 shots in scoring 12 points at WVU ... he has 37 assists on the season and ranks second on the team with nine steals ... Jackson scored 10 points and added seven rebounds and six assists (with zero turnovers) in 33 minutes vs. No. 13 (AP) Boston College on Dec. 27 ... followed the first scoreless game of his career (0-of-5, 0 points) vs. Appalachian State with a career high 16 points and career-best eight rebounds in 37 minutes in the Atlantic 10 opener at La Salle
• Senior forward/center Keith Gayden posted back-to-back double-doubles vs. Troy (12-10) and Appalachian State (19-12) in earning a spot on the Duquesne Holiday Tournament all-tournament team (Dec. 30-31) ... in the two games that have followed he has managed just 10 points and six rebounds ... he fouled out of the La Salle game with 8:44 remaining (six points and five rebounds) and scored four points and posted one rebound in 25 minutes vs. UMass ... his 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. App. State were both career highs ... he also tied career bests for blocks (3) and minutes played (31) vs. the Mountaineers ... Gayden scored 15 points (7-of-11 from the field) vs. #13 (AP) Boston College - and its All-American forward Craig Smith - on Dec. 27
• Sophomore forward Chauncey Duke, who entered the DU Holiday Tournament 6-of-27 (22.2%) from the 3-point arc, hit 5-of-12 in the two games including a career-high tying 4-of-6 vs. Appalachian State ... his 14 points vs. the Mountaineers were a career high ... in the two games he averaged 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds on 52.9 percent shooting (9-of-17) ... Duke, who has 26 assists and 13 turnovers on the season (a team-best 2-to-1 ratio), scored two points in 28 minutes at La Salle before rallying to score seven on 3-of-3 shooting vs. UMass ... Duke, who was averaging 6.8 rebounds per game through his first five games of the season, is averaging just 3.4 rpg. in DU's last seven games
• Sophomore Sean McKeon is 12-of-23 from the field (52.2%) with 34 points and seven blocks in his last six outings ... he is coming off a career-high 11-point effort vs. UMass ... he also added a team and career high four assists vs. the Minuemen
• Freshman forward/center Ronnie Thomas is averaging 15.8 min./g. in six games since Ryan Lambert left the team on Dec. 20
• Former walk-on Adam Souply who was put on scholarship prior to the season, handed out three assists in a career-high 14 minutes vs. Appalachian State ... he also added a career-high tying five points, a career-best three rebounds and two assists (zero turnovers) in a career high 16 minutes vs. UMass ... Souply, who has seen action in seven games this season (56 total minutes), has seen his playing time increase with the departure of Jack Higgins ... Souply played in a total of five games (11 total minutes) in his first three seasons with the Dukes ... he is one of just three true guards (along with McAllister and Jackson) on the current nine-man roster.

RICHMOND