Jan. 23, 2006

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DUQUESNE HOSTS NATIONALLY RANKED GW

Duquesne (2-14, 0-5), coming off an 85-63 loss at Dayton on Sunday, returns home to face nationally ranked George Washington (14-1, 4-0) on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7:05 p.m. (KQV-AM 1410/redzonemedia.com). The Dukes face the formidable task of attempting to snap an eight-game losing streak against a GW team that begins the week ranked No. 14 by The Associated Press. The Colonials, picked to finish first in the A-10 in a preseason poll of league coaches, have lived up to the hype with a 4-0 start in league play. GW, which is 4-1 on the road this season, is coming off an impressive 83-69 win at preseason No. 2 Charlotte on Saturday. Duquesne's last win over a ranked team was exactly nine years ago to the day - on Jan. 25, 1997 - at No. 16 (AP) Xavier, 78-70.

DUKES AND COLONIALS

George Washington, which leads the overall series 40-23, has won 20 of the last 23 meetings ... two of DU's three wins over that span have come in the last seven games - with both coming at the Palumbo Center ... at Pittsburgh, the series is tied at 15-15 ... DU's last series win was at the Palumbo Center on Feb. 19, 2003 by a 78-73 score ... last year, George Washington swept the season series: 81-57 at Pittsburgh and 80-57 at Washington, D.C. ... the Dukes have averaged 18.3 turnovers per game and been outscored by an average of 82.5-60.0 (-22.5 ppg.) during the current four game series losing streak.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne, which opened the season with a 12-man roster, is currently dressing nine players
• Senior guard Bryant McAllister, who is averaging a team-best 17.8 ppg., enters the GW game 18th on Duquesne's all-time leading scorer's list with 1,300 points ... he needs 36 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 4.47 apg. ... he has tied his career assist high twice in his last nine games with nine vs. both The Citadel and Appalachian State ... McAllister began the week ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in both scoring and assists
• Sophomore forward Chauncey Duke is coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring games (career-high 21 at Fordham & 12 at Dayton) ... Duke, who is 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the 3-point arc in his last six games, has never put together three consecutive double-digit scoring games
• DU's bench has been outscored 89-28 in the past two games.

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 of Duquesne's first six 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, DU's third-leading scorer for the past two seasons, did not return to the team following semester break in order to concentrate on academics. Higgins' last game as a Duke was on Dec. 20. Higgins, who finished his career tied for second on Duquesne's all-time 3-point accuracy list (39.1%), averaged 9.3 points (16 3-pointers) in DU's first eight games (six starts, 25.0 min./g.). Duquesne's current roster has just three true guards (senior 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 Dec. 31, "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."

NINE YEARS AGO ON THIS DATE - JAN. 25, 1997

Tom Pipkins scored 30 points and Mike James added 18 to lead Duquesne to a 78-70 win over 16th-ranked (AP) Xavier in front of a stunned crowd of 9,994 at Cincinnati Gardens. Duquesne, which entered the game with a 5-10 record, used a frantic defensive effort force the 13-2 Musketeers into 26 turnovers. Pipkins led the way offensively with six 3-pointers, as the Dukes went 11-of-21 from the arc. James - currently a guard for the NBA Toronto Raptors - paced the defense with four steals. Xavier, under Skip Prosser, went on to win the A-10 with a 13-3 record (23-6 overall) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Scott Edgar's Dukes finished 9-18.

VS. AP RANKED TEAMS

No. 14 (AP) George Washington is the second ranked team the Dukes will face this season. On Dec. 27, DU dropped an 81-69 decision to #13 (AP) Boston College at the Palumbo Center. Last year, the Dukes lost games vs. #24 (AP) George Washington (81-57) at the Palumbo Center and 87-57 at #13 (AP) Pitt. Duquesne University is 44-102 vs. AP ranked teams since the advent of the poll in 1948-49. Duquesne's last win over a ranked team came on Jan. 25, 1997 when the Dukes defeated No. 16 Xavier 78-70 at Cinicnnati Gardens (a span of 17 games against ranked teams). DU is 2-14 vs. ranked teams at the Palumbo Center (since 1988-89). The Dukes' last win over a ranked team at home was on March 6, 1993 over No. 18 Xavier 88-72 (a span of 13 games vs. ranked opponents), the last road win against ranked team was the Jan. 25, 1997 Xavier game listed above.

DAYTON LEFTOVERS

Leftovers from the 85-63 loss at Dayton last Sunday ... Dayton's largest lead was 25 with just over three minutes left ... Dayton went 20-of-24 from the foul line, while Duquesne went 15-of-24 ... Keith Gayden's 17 points were two shy of his career high of 19 set earlier this season vs. Appalachian State ... Duquesne's Aaron Jackson tied his career high with seven assists ... Chauncey Duke went 3-of-5 from the 3-point arc in scoring 12 points for DU ... Duke is now 13-of-24 from the arc (54.2%) in his last six games ... Dayton's bench outscored Duquesne's 37-9.

DUKE HITTING HIS STRIDE

Sophomore swingman Chauncey Duke, who scored a career-high 21 points at Fordham on Jan. 15, followed that effort with 12 points at Dayton ... Duke, who hit 7-of-10 field goal attempts vs. the Rams, has been a bright spot in conference play with a 10.0 ppg. scoring average and team-high field goal (60.0%) and 3-point (50.0%) percentages ... Duke, who has gone 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc in two of his last six games, has doubled his 3-point shooting percentage over that span (see box)

DUKE FROM THE ARC

First 9 games    7-of-33 21.2%Last 6 games    13-of-24 54.2%

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Bryant McAllister, who entered this season as one of just five A-10 returnees with over 1,000 points, has been known as a consistent scorer throughout his career, but 2005-06 brought with it a new challenge. With the departure of two-year starter Martin Osimani, McAllister has been asked to assume more point guard responsibilities. The Pittsburgh native has maintained his scoring pace (he's second in the conference with a 17.8 ppg. scoring average), while greatly improving his assist numbers. McAllister, who had five or more assists in a game nine times in 89 games prior to this season, has handed out five or more in a game nine times in 15 games in 2005-06. McAllister, who opened the season with 25 assists and 30 turnovers in his first six games, has gotten more comfortable with his new role with 42 assists and 26 turnovers in his last nine games.

SIZE DOESN'T MATTER

Duquesne's Bryant McAllister began the week as one of just four Atlantic 10 players with over 100 free throw attempts. Of the four, the 190-pound McAllister is the only guard ... the other three on the list average just over 6-8 and just under 250 pounds:

A-10 MOST FREE THROWS PER GAME
thru games of Jan. 22

PLAYER         SCHOOL  HT,  WT  FT-ATT G  ATT/GIan Vouyoukas  STL     6-10 270 86-118 17 6.94B. McALLISTER  DUQ     6-3  190 81-104 15 6.93Bryant Dunston FOR     6-8  233 82-121 18 6.72Curtis Withers CHA     6-8, 246 64-121 18 6.72

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

• Duquesne has used seven different starting lineups in 16 games
• The Dukes were forced to play musical lineups since day one ... 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 second 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 in game No. 4 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. with three starts)
• 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-pointers, with six starts), would not be returning to the team for the second semester in order to concentrate on academics
• DU's entire preseason roster was intact for just one game this season (a 73-58 win over Robert Morris on Dec. 3) ... the evolving roster has led to starts for nine different players ... Sean McKeon, Ronnie Thomas and Adam Souply are the only current roster members who have not been on the floor for an opening tip ... the Duquesne Holiday Tournament (Dec. 30-31) marked the first time that the Dukes started the same lineup for more than two consecutive games ... the unit of Duke, Hudson, Gayden, McAllister and Jackson had started six in a row before Hudson missed the Richmond game (precautionary cardiac testing) ... Hudson rejoined the starting five for the Fordham game
• Bryant McAllister, who has led the Dukes in scoring in 11 of 16 games, followed his first single-digit scoring game of the season (a season-low eight at Fordham) with a game-high 19 at Dayton ... McAllister hasn't had back-to-back single-digit games since the second and third games of his sophomore season, when he was playing through an ankle injury (nine points vs. Siena and zero vs. Pitt) ... the Pittsburgh native tied his career scoring high with 30 points vs. Troy in the first round of the Duquesne Holiday Tournament on Dec. 30 ... McAllister, who has tied his career high of nine assists in two of the Dukes' last nine games (vs. The Citadel and Appalachian State), has had at least five assists in nine of 15 games ... going into this season, he had five or more assists in a game nine times in 89 career outings ... he has not gone more than two consecutive games without at least five assists this season ... McAllister ranks second in the A-10 in both scoring (17.8 ppg.) and assists (4.47 apg.) ... he is the only Duquesne player averaging over 30 minutes per game (31.8), McAllister leads the Dukes in assists (67) and steals (16)
• Sophomore forward DeVario Hudson, DU's second-leading scorer (9.5 ppg.) and top rebounder (5.5 rpg.) missed the Richmond game on Jan. 11 due to precautionary cardiac testing ... he was cleared to practice the Friday before the Fordham game and was back in the starting lineup against the Rams ... the Richmond miss snapped Hudson's team-high streak of 19 consecutive games played ... Hudson, who entered the Duquesne 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 ... the Georgia native, who is second on the team to McAllister with seven double-digit games, bounced back to score 12 in the consolation game vs. Appalachian State ... Hudson has gotten off to a slow start in conference play with 20 points in four games ... he has yet to score more than six points in an A-10 game this season ... Hudson is shooting 45.9 percent from the field on the season (38.5% in conference play) ... he is 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the line
• Freshman point guard Aaron Jackson, who handed out a season-high seven assists vs. The Citadel on Dec. 20, matched that total at Dayton on Jan. 21 ...he has turned it over just 23 times in 458 total minutes (28.6 min/g.) and is second on the team in both assists (51) and steals (12) ... his 2.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in the Atlantic 10 ... 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 ... 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 ... he has yet to miss a free throw (11-of-11) in conference play ... he brings a streak of 12 straight free throws made into the George Washington game
• 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) ... his 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. Appalachian State were both career highs ... he also tied career bests for blocks (3) and minutes played (31) vs. the Mountaineers ... scored just 16 points (on 28.6% shooting) and had 14 rebounds in DU's first four conference games before breaking out with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting at Dayton ... has fouled out of two of five league contests (with 8:44 left at La Salle and with 54 seconds left at Fordham) ... 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 then 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 33 assists and 18 turnovers on the season (1.8-to-1 ratio), scored two points in 28 minutes at La Salle before rallying to score seven on 3-of-3 shooting vs. UMass ... he followed that with eight points and seven boards in 37 minutes vs. Richmond, before exploding for a career-high 21 points (7-of-10 from the field) at Fordham ... Duke eclipsed his previous career high of 14 with 16 points in the first half ... he added 12 more at Dayton (3-of-5 from the 3-point arc) to up his scoring average to a season-high 7.5 ppg. ... Duke's 4.9 rebounds per game average is up from his 2.7 rpg. mark last season
• Ssophomore Sean McKeon is 3-of-12 from the field (25.0%) with six points and six rebounds in his last three games (14.7 min/g.) ... he scored a career-high 11 vs. UMass on Jan. 7 in the game prior to his current three game slump ... McKeon, who had four assists in 24 games last season (285 total minutes), added a team and career high four assists vs. the Minutemen
• Freshman forward/center Ronnie Thomas, who suffered bruised ribs in practice on Jan. 9, scored a career-high seven points and added a blocked shot and two charges taken in 15 minutes of action vs. Richmond on Jan. 11 ... Thomas played the game with his ribs bandaged and braced ... he is averaging 15.7 min./g. in nine games since Ryan Lambert left the team on Dec. 20
• Former walk-on Adam Souply who was put on scholarship prior to the season, has scored 14 points in DU's last four games ... the 6-1 senior handed out three assists in a 14 minutes vs. Appalachian State on Dec. 30 ... 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 ... he matched the five-point total again at Fordham ... Souply, who has seen action in 10 games this season (90 total minutes), 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
• Through five conference games, Duquesne is being outshot 50.0 percent to 41.4 percent, outrebounded by 6.4 per game and being outscored by 21.0 points per game ... DU is shooting just 29.9 percent from the 3-point arc in A-10 play (20-of-67).

70 IS THE KEY

Reaching the 70-point mark has meant success for the Dukes under Danny Nee. When scoring 70 or more, Duquesne is 34-18 in Nee's five seasons. Not coincidentally, DU's two wins this season have come in two of the three games in which it has topped the 70-point mark (73-58 over Robert Morris & 90-61 over The Citadel). To go one further, the Dukes are 13-2 when scoring 80 or more under Nee. Through 16 games this season, Duquesne is averaging 63.6 ppg.