12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2006
DUQUESNE (2-3) at ROBERT MORRIS (4-1)Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006 • 7:00 p.m. (EST)
Charles L. Sewall Center (3,056) • Moon Township, Pa.
TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
INTERNET BROADCAST: www.RedZoneMedia.com
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DUKES BEGIN "RIVALRY WEEK" AT ROBERT MORRIS
Duquesne (2-3), which has been idle since an 85-74 loss at Northern Illinois on Nov. 25, returns to action at Robert Morris (4-1) on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m. (KQV radio 1410 AM and on the internet at www.RedZoneMedia.com).
The RMU game tips off a series of three consecutive games against traditional rivals as the Dukes head to No. 2 (AP) Pitt (7-0) on Dec. 6 and host West Virginia (5-1) on Dec. 9. DU's next three opponents take a combined 16-2 record into this weekend.
DUKES VS. COLONIALS
This is 17th game between Duquesne and Robert Morris - and fourth meeting in as many years between the two schools ... prior to the 2003-04 season, the 13 previous games were all played between December of 1980 and December of 1995 ... DU, winner of seven of the past eight, holds a 12-4 edge in the series ... in games played Sewall Center, Duquesne leads 3-1 ... in the last Moon Township meeting (Dec. 29, 2004), RMU defeated the Dukes 74-63 ... the Colonials, led by sixth-year coach Mark Schmidt who served as an assistant at Xavier from 1994-01, got off to a school record 4-0 start before dropping a 67-53 decision at No. 2 (AP) Pitt on Wednesday ... the Colonials were picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference, with five of 11 first place votes, in a preseason poll of league coaches.
DUQUESNE LATELY
- The Dukes began a stretch of eight-of-nine games on the road at Northern Illinois on Nov. 25 ... DU will play at home once - Dec. 9 vs. West Virginia - prior to Jan. 10
- Duquesne is currently competing with eight scholarship players, just one of whom is taller than 6-6 ... that player - 6-9 Almamy Thiero - has played 49 minutes in DU's first five games
- Thiero, who is recovering from Oct. 9 arthroscopic knee surgery, played a total of 134 minutes in four seasons at Memphis prior to transferring as a graduate student
- A freshman has led DU in scoring in each of the team's first five games ... 6-6 freshman Robert Mitchell, the Nov. 26 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, has led the team two times, while Scott Grote has taken team scoring honors three times ... Mitchell is averaging a team-best 16.8 ppg. and Grote 16.2 ppg.
- Sophomore Aaron Jackson leads the A-10 with a 3.67-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (22 assists and six turnovers in five games).
EVERHART VS. RMU, PITT & WVU
This will be the first meeting with both Robert Morris and Pitt for first-year Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. Everhart, a native of Fairmont, W.Va., has faced West Virginia once before. On Nov. 29, 2003, Everhart's Northeastern Huskies traveled to Morgantown and handed WVU a rare non-conference home defeat, 91-84. Northeastern finished the 2003-04 season 19-11, while John Beilein's Mountaineers went 17-14 including two wins in the NIT.
QUICK NOTES
- Head coach Ron Everhart has used three different starting lineups in the Dukes first five games ... the fivesome of Robert Mitchell, Scott Grote, Phillip Fayne, Aaron Jackson and Reggie Jackson has started three of the past four
- The average age of the 12 players currently active is 19.8
- DU, which has 77 team assists and 63 turnovers on the season, has assisted on 58.8 percent of its field goals ... the Dukes have been even (once) or had more assists than turnovers in every game this season
- Duquesne is averaging 22.4 three-point attempts per game
- Freshman Robert Mitchell has scored in double digits in all five games
- Freshman Scott Grote and sophomore Aaron Jackson have scored 10 or more four times each
- Seven different players have scored in double digits at least once
- Mitchell, Grote and Aaron Jackson have all topped the 20-point
- The Dukes have held just one opponent under 54 percent from the field ... that was the season-opener when Youngstown State shot 43.1 percent
- Aaron Jackson, who averaged 3.2 rebounds per game last season, is the Dukes' second-leading rebounder at 6.2 rpg. ... the 6-2, 180-pounder posted double-doubles in DU's first two games (12-11 vs. Youngstown State & 15-10 vs. UNC Asheville) ... he had five games with five or more rebounds in 27 outings last year
- 6-10 junior forward/center Kieron Achara, who was diagnosed with three stress fractures in his left foot on Nov. 10, has been wearing a protective boot for the past three weeks ... the Stirling, Scotland native is expected to go without the boot beginning Saturday ... barring any setbacks, he'll be able to begin a gradual return to practice on Monday, Dec. 4 ... his return date is to be determined.
A "BIG" PROBLEM
In the past three games - all losses - Duquesne's lack of size has been a telling factor. In the Nov. 20 87-82 overtime loss to Northern Illinois, NIU's 6-11 center James Hughes hit 11-of-12 shots on the way to a game-high 25 points. In the 67-53 loss to Oakland on Nov. 22, the Golden Grizzlies' 6-7, 275-pound center, Shawn Hopes, went 9-of-10 from the floor from close range in scoring 20 points. Hughes struck again with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the rematch at Northern Illinois on Nov. 25. In the past three games, opposing centers (Hughes twice and Hopes once) have gone a combined 28-of-33 (84.8%) and opponents have shot a combined 58.9 percent (86-of-146) from the field.
AND A FRESHMAN SHALL LEAD THEM
Duquesne, which opened the season with three freshmen in the starting lineup (Scott Grote, Robert Mitchell & Stephen Wood) for the first time since NCAA bylaws were changed to grant freshman eligibility prior to the 1972-73 season, has seen a freshman lead the team in scoring in each of its five games. Six-six Scott Grote scored a team-high 23 in the opener vs. Youngstown State and followed that with a team-best 18, including two game-deciding free throws with 1.3 second left, in the 77-76 win over UNC Asheville. Fellow freshman Robert Mitchell shook off a 3-of-10 first half to convert 6-of-8 shots in the second half and overtime to lead the Dukes with 24 points in the 87-82 OT loss to Northern Illinois on Nov. 20. Mitchell, who also stands 6-6, added 10 boards against the Huskies to complete his first career double-double. Grote and Mitchell led the way in the loss to Oakland with 13 and 10 points respectively. The two reversed roles at Northern Illinois, with Mitchell netting 23 and Grote 20. The most prolific high school scorer of the three, Wood, missed the Nov. 20 NIU game due to sickness. Wood scored 1,385 points in three seasons at New York City's Monsignor McClancy.
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TENTATIVE STARTERS AT ROBERT MORRIS| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | G/GS | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 23 | F | Robert Mitchell | 6-6 | Fr. | 16.8 | 7.4 | 5/4 | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 19.0 ppg. in 3 g. to earn A10 Rookie of Week (11/26) |
| 30 | F | Scott Grote | 6-6 | Fr. | 16.2 | 4.6 | 5/5 | Centerville, Ohio | Has led team in scoring three times; has att. 35 FT's |
| 20 | G | Phillip Fayne | 6-2 | So. | 8.6 | 1.6 | 5/4 | Carbondale, Ill. | Started last four g., has scored in double digits twice |
| 1 | G | Aaron Jackson | 6-2 | So. | 13.4 | 6.2 | 5/5 | Hartford, Conn. | Averaged 3.2 rpg. as a freshman; at 6.2 rpg. this year |
| 3 | G | Reggie Jackson | 5-10 | Jr. | 7.8 | 0.8 | 2/2 | Hogansville, Ga. | Leads team with 23 assists, avg. 4.6 assists per game |
OFF THE BENCH
| # | P | Name | Ht | Yr | Pts | Reb | G/GS | Hometown | Quick Facts |
| 22 | G | Gary Tucker | 6-0 | Jr. | 5.0 | 0.8 | 4/0 | Pensacola, Fla. | Saw his first game action on Nov. 18 vs. UNC Asheville |
| 31 | F | Stephen Wood | 6-3 | Fr. | 5.0 | 0.5 | 4/1 | S. Jamaica Queens, N.Y. | Returning to form after battling flu symptoms last week |
| 50 | C | Almamy Thiero | 6-9 | Gr. | 2.0 | 2.6 | 5/1 | Mali, West Africa | Memphis transfer made 1st career start vs. NIU 11/20 |
| 43 | G | Jason Duty | 6-0 | Fr. | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1/0 | Cranberry, Twp., Pa. | Late addition walk-on played 7 minutes at NIU (11/25) |
| 2 | F | Kieron Achara | 6-10 | Jr. | --- | --- | 0/0 | Stirling, Scotland | Out indefinitely with stress fractures in left foot |
