Jan. 31, 2006

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DUQUESNE HOSTS LA SALLE IN A-10 REMATCH

Duquesne (3-15, 1-6), which snapped a nine-game losing streak with an 86-82 win at St. Bonaventure on Saturday, returns home to face La Salle (11-7, 3-4) on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:05 p.m. in a rematch of the first meeting between the two on Jan. 4 (KQV-AM 1410 / www.RedZoneMedia.com). This is the first of back-to-back home games for the Dukes who are 2-8 at the Palumbo Center this season. La Salle, coming off a 68-61 home win over Massachusetts on Sunday, is one of just four Atlantic 10 teams with a .500 or better road record at 4-4. On Jan. 4, La Salle erased a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Duquesne 84-61 in the Atlantic 10 opener for both schools at Philadelphia. La Salle is one of three teams Duquesne will play twice in the expanded Atlantic 10 this season, Fordham and St. Bonaventure are the others. DU hosts Fordham on Saturday.

DUKES AND EXPLORERS

La Salle leads the overall series 32-25, however Duquesne holds a 17-9 advantage in games played at Pittsburgh ... in Atlantic 10 regular-season play, the Explorers lead 13-8 ... Duquesne snapped a six-game La Salle series win streak with a 72-67 victory at Philadelphia last season ... DU followed that with a 77-72 home win to complete its first A-10 series sweep of the Explorers ...on Jan. 4, La Salle rallied from a 34-26 halftime deficit to defeat the Dukes 84-61 in the first meeting this season at Philadelphia ... Steve Smith led La Salle with 21 points ... Bryant McAllister scored a game-high 22 for Duquesne.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne, which began last week averaging 63.6 points per game, has scored a total of 164 points (82.0 ppg.) in its last two games
• Saturday's 86-82 win at St. Bonaventure, in addition to being DU's first road win of the season, also ended a nine-game losing streak
• The Dukes, who opened the season with a 12-man roster, are currently dressing nine players
• Senior guard Bryant McAllister, ranks second in the A-10 in scoring (18.5 ppg.) and third in assists (4.47 apg.) ... he enters the La Salle game 15th on Duquesne's all-time leading scorer's list with 1,348 points ... he needs eight to pass Brian Shanahan and move into the No. 14 spot ... McAllister averaged 24.0 ppg. in two games last week
• Senior Keith Gayden is averaging 16.0 ppg. and 6.7 rpg. in DU's last three games ... the only thing that has slowed him is foul trouble ... Gayden, who has fouled out of DU's last two games, has been DQ'ed from four of seven conference games
• Freshman guard Aaron Jackson was named A-10 Rookie of the Week after averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in two games last week.

TOP GUNS

The La Salle at Duquesne game features a matchup of the two leading scorers in the Atlantic 10 in 6-9 La Salle forward Steven Smith (19.9 ppg.) and Duquesne guard Bryant McAllister (18.5 ppg.). In conference play McAllister is averaging a league-best 19. 3 ppg., Smith is tied for second at 17.7 ppg.

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."

ST. BONAVENTURE LEFTOVERS

Leftovers from the 86-82 win at St. Bonaventure on Saturday ... the win was the Dukes' first since a 90-61 victory over The Citadel on Dec. 20 ... it also snapped an eight-game road losing streak dating back to last season ... the victory was DU's fourth in a row over St. Bonaventure, marking the first time since Feb. 1990 to Jan. 1992 that the Dukes won four straight vs. the Bonnies ... the last time DU won back-to-back games at Olean was in 1994 & 1995 ... Duquesne, which shot a season-best 50.0 percent from the field, hit 18-of-20 free throws, including the first 18 in a row ... DU didn't miss until DeVario Hudson rimmed out a pair with two seconds left ... St. Bonaventure shot 43.1 percent from the field and went 20-of-33 from the charity stripe ... Duquesne's halftime lead was just its fourth of the season ... the Dukes led by as many as 19 in the first half ... St. Bonaventure rallied to take a five-point lead in the second half ... freshman Aaron Jackson, who was named Jan. 29 A-10 Rookie of the Week, scored five straight points (a jumper and 3-pointer) to tie the game at 67-67 with 8:19 to go ... DU is now 2-0 when scoring 80 or more points ... Duquesne, which finished the game without both Keith Gayden (fouled out with 2:22 left) and Bryant McAllister (fouled out with :25 left) played just eight players ... Duquesne converted six traditional three-point plays (field goal and a free throw) with McAllister finishing with three, Gayden adding two and Brian Kelly converting one .. with his 25-point outing, McAllister passed Emmett Sellers, Collins Dobbs and Jarrett Durham to move into the 15th spot on Duquesne's all-time leading scorers' list with 1,348 points ... the Dukes, who began the week averaging 63.6 ppg., have scored 164 points in their last two games (82.0 ppg.).

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 an 18.5 ppg. scoring average), while greatly improving his assist numbers. McAllister, who had five or more assists in a game 10 times in 89 games prior to this season, has handed out five or more in a game 10 times in 17 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 51 assists and 34 turnovers in his last 11 games. He hasn't gone more than two games without a five-assist game this season.

GAYDEN GOING GREAT

Senior center Keith Gayden, who scored a total of 16 points in Duquesne's first four Atlantic 10 games, has scored 17, 13 and 18 points in his last three league contests (a 16.0 ppg. scoring average on 54.5% shooting). In fact, the only thing that has slowed 6-8, 215-pounder as of late has been foul trouble. Gayden, who scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds in nine minutes before sitting out the rest of the first half with three fouls against George Washington, has fouled out of four of DU's first seven conference games, including the last two.

GAYDEN IN CONFERENCE PLAY

SPAN              FG-AT  PCT  PPG RPGFirst 4 games   8-of-28 .286  4.0 3.0Last 3 games   18-of-33 .545 16.0 6.7

DUKE FINDING THE RANGE

Sophomore swingman Chauncey Duke, who scored a career-high 21 points at Fordham on Jan. 15, followed that effort with 12 points at Dayton before dropping to single digits with nine points vs. GW ... Duke, who hit 7-of-10 field goal attempts vs. the Rams, has been a bright spot in conference play with a 9.0 ppg. scoring average and team-high field goal (53.5%) and 3-point (42.9%) percentages ... Duke, who has hit at least three 3-pointers in four of his last eight games, has more than doubled his 3-point shooting percentage over that span (see box)

DUKE FROM THE ARC

First 9 games   7-of-33  21.2%Last 8 games   16-of-34  47.1%

DUQUESNE QUICK NOTES

• Duquesne has used seven different starting lineups in 18 games
• The Dukes were forced to play musical lineups through the month of December ... 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 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 13 of 18 games, followed his first single-digit scoring game of the season (a season-low eight at Fordham) with a game-high 19 at Dayton ... he hit 4-of-8 3-point attempts in adding 23 vs. GW and scored 25 more at St. Bonaventure ... McAllister hasn't had back-to-back single-digit scoring 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 twice this season (vs. The Citadel and Appalachian State), has had at least five assists in 10 of 17 games ... going into this season, he had five or more assists in a game 10 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 scoring (18.5 ppg.) and third in assists (4.47 apg.) ... he is the only Duquesne player averaging over 30 minutes per game (32.2), McAllister leads the Dukes in assists (76) and steals (21)
• Sophomore forward DeVario Hudson, DU's second-leading scorer (9.6 ppg.) and top rebounder (5.6 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 ... he averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and shot 34.8 percent from the field (8-of-23) in his first three games back before scoring 12 on 5-of-10 shooting at St. Bonaventure ... 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 points on 2-of-9 shooting vs. Troy ... the Georgia native, who is second on the team to McAllister with eight double-digit games, bounced back to score 12 in the consolation game vs. Appalachian State ... Hudson is shooting 46.1 percent from the field on the season ... Hudson has made three of his last seven 3-point attempts
• Freshman point guard Aaron Jackson was named A-10 Rookie of the Week after averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in games vs. George Washington and St. Bonaventure ... he handed out a career-high eight assists (with just two turnovers) vs. GW and added 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals in the win at SBU ... Jackson who handed out seven assists vs. The Citadel on Dec. 20, matched that total at Dayton on Jan. 21 ... he surpassed that total with eight in 33 minutes vs. George Washington ...Jackson, who has turned it over just 29 times in 528 total minutes (29.3 min/g.), is second on the team in both assists (64) and steals (16) ... his 2.21-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 ... he 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 (13-of-13) in conference play ... he brings a streak of 14 straight free throws made into the La Salle game ... his last miss from the stripe was on Dec. 27 vs. BC
• Senior F/C Keith Gayden has scored 48 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in 74 total minutes in DU's last three games (17-6 at Dayton, 13-7 in 16 minutes before fouling out vs. GW & 18-7 before fouling out after 19 minutes at St. Bonaventure) ... in his last two games alone, Gayden has scored 31 points in 35 minutes ... the current outburst followed a three-game stretch during which Gayden totaled 10 points and six boards ... earlier this year the JC transfer posted back-to-back double-doubles vs. Troy (12-10) and Appalachian State (19-12) to earn 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 four of seven league contests (with 8:44 left at La Salle, with 54 seconds left at Fordham, with 3:30 to go vs. George Washington and with 2:22 left at St. Bonaventure) ... averaging 21.1 minutes per game in league play ... 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 37 assists and 21 turnovers on the season (1.76-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) and nine vs. GW to up his scoring average to a season-high 7.6 ppg. ... his average dipped to 7.4 after a four-point outing at SBU ... Duke's 4.6 rebounds per game average is up from his 2.7 rpg. mark last season
• Sophomore Sean McKeon was 5-of-18 from the field (27.8%) with 10 points and 12 rebounds in four games (14.0 min/g.) prior to not seeing action at St. Bona on Saturday ... he scored a career-high 11 vs. UMass on Jan. 7 in the game prior to his current slump ... grabbed a career high-tying six rebounds vs. George Washington on Jan. 25 ... 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 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 added a career-best nine points in 22 minutes vs. GW and followed that with six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes at St. Bonaventure ... his two free throws with 21 seconds left provided the final margin in the Dukes' 86-82 win ... he is averaging 16.5 min./g. in 11 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 17 points in DU's last six 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 12 games this season (110 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.

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 35-19 in Nee's five seasons. Not coincidentally, DU's three wins this season have come in three of the five games in which it has topped the 70-point mark (73-58 over Robert Morris, 90-61 over The Citadel & 86-82 at St. Bonaventure). To go one further, the Dukes are 14-2 (2-0 this season) when scoring 80 or more under Nee. Through 18 games this season, Duquesne is averaging 65.6 ppg.