Feb. 4, 2006

TELEVISION: None
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
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DUQUESNE HOSTS FORDHAM IN A-10 REMATCH

Duquesne (3-16, 1-7), coming off a 75-66 loss to La Salle on Wednesday, completes a two-game homestand against Fordham (9-11, 4-3) on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:00 p.m. (KQV-AM 1410 / www.RedZoneMedia.com). Fordham, a 63-45 home winner over Richmond on Wednesday, has won six of its last nine games including a 90-63 victory over the Dukes on Jan. 15. In the first meeting, Fordham shot 68.8 percent from the field in jumping out to a 57-31 halftime lead and coasted to the win. The Rams are 2-7 on the road, while Duquesne is 2-9 at the Palumbo Center. Senior guard Jermaine Anderson, who scored his 1,000th career point vs. Richmond, is averaging a team-high 16.1 ppg. for Fordham. Bryant McAllister leads Duquesne with an 18.6 ppg. scoring average.

DUKES AND RAMS

Duquesne leads the series 13-8, including a 7-2 advantage in games played at Pittsburgh ... in A-10 regular- season action, DU leads 6-5 ... Duquesne saw a four-game series win streak snapped in the first round of last year's Atlantic 10 Championship when the Rams defeated the Dukes 65-53 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati ... in the first meeting this season, Corey McCrae scored 20 and Bryant Dunston added 17 in a 90-63 Fordham win at Rose Hill Gym ... Duquesne's Chauncey Duke led all scorers with a game- and career-high 21 ... Duquesne has won the last two Palumbo Center match-ups in convincing fashion: 95-66 in 2002 and 93- 56 in 2004.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne, which has been dressing nine players for the Atlantic 10 season, received an unexpected setback when senior Keith Gayden sprained his left (shooting) wrist in a freak accident on campus the afternoon of Wednesday's La Salle game ... Gayden, who had averaged 16.0 ppg. and 6.7 rpg. in DU's previous three games, tripped while running up a flight of stairs in the Student Union and injured the wrist while breaking his fall ... Gayden played an ineffective nine minutes off the bench vs. the Explorers
• Senior guard Bryant McAllister, ranks second in the A-10 in both scoring (18.6 ppg.) and assists (4.56 apg.) ... he enters the Fordham game 14th on Duquesne's all-time leading scorer's list with 1,368 points ... he needs 15 to pass B.B. Flenory and move into the No. 13 spot ... McAllister has scored 23, 25 & 20 points with 15 assists in the his last three games
• Freshman guard Aaron Jackson, the Jan. 29 A-10 Rookie of the Week, is averaging 14.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg. and 3.5 apg. in his last two games ... he went 4-of-5 from the 3-point arc in scoring 15 vs. La Salle on Wednesday

LA SALLE LEFTOVERS

Leftovers from Wednesday night's 75-66 loss to La Salle ... Duquesne learned in the early afternoon that starting center Keith Gayden was hurt ... Gayden injured his left (shooting) wrist after tripping while running up steps in the Student Union prior to shootaround ... he tried to brace himself after he stumbled, but couldn't get his left hand out of his pocket in time to break the fall ... the injury was diagnosed as a sprained left wrist ... x-rays taken in the afternoon did not show a break ... Sean McKeon made his third career start -and first this year - in Gayden's place ... the starting lineup was DU's eighth different one this season ... La Salle dominated Gayden-less Duquesne inside, outscoring the Dukes 28-12 in the paint and outrebounding DU 40-29 ... the Dukes, who went 18-of-20 from the foul line in their previous game at St. Bonaventure, converted a season-low 50 percent (8-of-16) from the charity stripe ... Aaron Jackson saw a streak of 14 consecutive free throws made snapped on his first attempt of the game ... his last miss from the line was on Dec. 27 vs. Boston College ... Jackson went 4-of-5 from the arc in scoring 15 points ... his four 3-pointers were a career high ... DeVario Hudson, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, tied his career high with three 3-pointers ... La Salle outscored Duquesne 23-5 in fast break points and also enjoyed a 22-8 advantage in bench points ... Duquesne shot 52.6 percent outside the 3-point arc (10-of-19) and 35.9 percent (14-of-39) inside the 3-point arc ... the Explorers shot 49.2 percent for the game ... Chauncey Duke's nine rebounds were one shy of his career high ... Bryant McAllister, who finished with 20 points, has now scored 20 or more in each of DU's last three games ... he added six assists, six boards and one steals vs. the Explorers ... McAllister's steal was the only one of the game for the Dukes.

SHARING THE BALL

Duquesne has assisted on 62.8 percent of its field goals in its last 12 games, an improvement over the team's 56.1 percent rate in its first seven outings. The Dukes have also cut their turnovers by nearly four per game over that span. Guards Bryant McAllister and Aaron Jackson have been the catalysts with a combined 109 assists with 62 turnovers in DU's last 12 games. The two have combined for 54.0 percent of Duquesne's 274 total assists:

SPAN           ASTs FGs PCT  AST/TOs     RATIOFirst 7 games   87  155 56.1  87-to-116  0.75-to-1Last 12 games  187  298 62.8 187-to-162  1.15-to-1

DUQUESNE BASKETBALL HISTORICAL BITS

• It All Began on Jan. 15, 1913
  
  Duquesne fielded its first basketball team in 1913-14. The Dukes defeated Bethany, 43-28, at home in their first game on Jan. 15, 1913.

• Dukes First on TV in Pittsburgh
  
  The first televised game in Pittsburgh basketball history was between Duquesne and St. Bonaventure on Feb. 11, 1952 from Duquesne Gardens. The Dukes and Bonnies were the only unbeaten teams in the nation at the time. The game was aired by WDTV (now KDKA) with Ray Scott handling the play-by-play.

• One in the NBA and one in the NFL
  
  Former Duke Mike James (1994-98) - a member of the 2004 World Champion Detroit Pistons - is in his fifth NBA season, currently as a starting guard for the Toronto Raptors. James, a first team All-Atlantic 10 pick in 1997-98, entered the league as a free agent. Duquesne is also represented in the NFL in Leigh Bodden, who completed his third-year in the NFL as a sttarting cornerback for the Cleveland Browns.