Jan. 9, 2007

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HOME AT LAST

Duquesne (5-8, 1-1), winner of three of its past four, returns to the Palumbo Center to face La Salle (6-8, 0-2) in the Dukes' Atlantic 10 home opener on Wed., Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m. (KQV radio 1410 AM and on the internet at www.RedZoneMedia.com).

This is just the second home game since Nov. 22 for the Dukes who completed a five-game road trip with a 3-2 record including a 73-63 win at Saint Louis on Wednesday. The Dukes, who played eight of their past nine games on the road, will be home for five of their next six.

La Salle comes to Pittsburgh looking to snap a six-game losing streak. The Explorers, who dropped a 79-71 decision to UMass on Wednesday, are 2-1 on the road. Three of La Salle's eight losses have come by three or fewer points. The Explorers are being outscored by two-tenths of a point (70.2-70.0) on the season.

DUKES AND EXPLORERS

La Salle leads the overall series 33-25, however Duquesne holds a 17-10 advantage in games played at Pittsburgh ... in Atlantic 10 regular-season play, the Explorers lead 14-8 ... Duquesne snapped a six-game La Salle series win streak with a 72-67 victory at Philadelphia two years ago season ... DU followed that with a 77-72 home win to complete its first A-10 series sweep of the Explorers ... La Salle returned the favor by sweeping the Dukes last season ... La Salle has won 10 of the past 13 meetings.

DUQUESNE LATELY

• DU, which began the season with seven scholarship players, is currently competing with nine ... the La Salle game ends a stretch that saw the Dukes play eight-of-nine late November/December games on the road
• Sophomore Aaron Jackson, the lone Duke to start all 13 games, is averaging an A-10 high 36.6 min./g. ... he has played 40 or more minutes in three of DU's past four games and is averaging 15.0 ppg. and shooting 62.9% (22-of-35) over that span ... he had 19 points, five rebounds and three steals in the win at Saint Louis
• The other half of DU's all-Jackson backcourt, JC transfer Reggie Jackson, is coming off a season-high 13-point, seven-steal outing at Saint Louis ... the seven steals - the most by a DU player since Mike James had seven vs. La Salle on Jan. 31, 1998 - tied the second-highest single game total in school history
• Freshman Robert Mitchell, who leads the team with a 17.6 ppg. scoring average, will be back on the bench after sitting out the Saint Louis game for not being "accountable to himself and his teammates in practice," according to head coach Ron Everhart.

SAINT LOUIS LEFTOVERS

Duquesne's 10-point margin of victory tied for the 11th largest ever by a DU team in an Atlantic 10 road game ... it was also Duquesne's largest margin of victory in an A-10 road game since a 72-55 win at Rhode Island on Jan. 21, 2004 ... DU held SLU to a 2006-07 opponent low 63 points, including just 25 in the second half ... the Dukes were down 14 with 5:57 left in the first half, and trailed by seven with 11:31 remaining ... the defeat was just the second at home for Saint Louis who owns Scottrade Center wins over Houston, Missouri State and Mississippi ... the only other team to defeat SLU at home was then-No. 2 (AP) North Carolina.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE THREE DAYS MAKES

Consider that within 72 hours last week ... Duquesne went from suffering its second-worst road loss in 30 seasons of Atlantic 10 play (89-41 at Saint Joseph's) to posting its 11th-largest margin of victory in an A-10 road game (73-63 at Saint Louis). The Dukes, who shot 25.0 percent and were outscored 31-3 in points off turnovers at Saint Joe's, did a complete 180 in the game at Saint Louis where they shot 52.3 percent and outscored the Billikens 28-9 in points off turnovers. DU posted a season low-tying three steals at Saint Joseph's. The starting backcourt of Reggie (seven steals) and Aaron Jackson (three steals) accounted for 10 of DU's season-high 12 steals at Saint Louis.

QUICK NOTES

• Head coach Ron Everhart has used eight different starting lineups in the Dukes first 13 games ... no fivesome has started more than three games ... nine different players, including three true freshmen, have started at least once ... the average age of the 13 players currently dressing for games is 20.0
• DU, which has 199 team assists and 199 turnovers, has assisted on 60.5 percent of its field goals ... Duquesne is averaging 21.1 three-point attempts per game ... Duquesne's opponents, who shot a combined 54.4 percent in the Dukes' first five games (141-of-259), have been held to 46.9 percent in the past eight games ... Duquesne leads the Atlantic 10 - and ranks 14th nationally - in free throw percentage (.756) ... DU is second in the A-10 in assists (15.3 apg.) and tied for third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio
• Eight different Dukes have scored in double digits at least once ... Robert Mitchell (six times), Scott Grote (twice), Aaron Jackson (once) and Kieron Achara (once) have all topped the 20-point mark
• Aaron Jackson, who leads the Atlantic 10 with 36.6 minutes per game has logged 40 or more minutes in three of DU's past four games ... he is shooting 62.9 percent from the field (22-of-35) and averaging 15.0 ppg. over that span ... the sophomore guard, who led all Atlantic 10 returnees with a 1.73-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season, has 49 assists and 26 turnovers this year ... his 1.88-to-1 ratio ranks fourth in the A-10 ... his 3.77 assists per game average ranks fifth ... Jackson, who averaged 3.2 rebounds per game last season, 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, he has seven in 13 games this season ... Jackson leads the team with 34 offensive boards, including a spectacular put-back dunk at Boston College ... he is tied for second on the team with 5.1 rpg ... the Hartford, Conn. native put together one of the top stat lines by an A-10 player with 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a career-high five steals at Saint Francis, Pa. ... he was named A-10 co-Player of the Week (Dec. 24) for his effort ... he followed that with 19 points and seven rebounds in DU's 98-93 OT win at Boston College to earn A-10 POW honors for the second consecutive week ... in the process he became just the seventh player in school history to win conference Player of the Week honors twice in one season ... the Dukes are 5-3 when Jackson scores in double figures
• 6-10 junior forward/center Kieron Achara, who was diagnosed with three stress fractures in his left foot on Nov. 10, discarded the protective boot he had worn for the previous three weeks on Dec. 2 ... the Stirling, Scotland native began practicing on Monday, Dec. 4 and made an unexpected return at Pitt two days later ... Achara scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes before fouling out ... it was his first game action since Dec. 3, 2005 vs. Robert Morris (he played in just three games last season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder ... he had season-ending surgery last Dec. 15) ... Achara made his first start on Dec. 9 vs. West Virginia and went 6-of-6 from the field in scoring 15 points in 25 minutes and followed that by scoring 13 of his 17 points in the second half (8-of-12 from the field) at Niagara ... he topped both outings by hitting a game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key with 0:00 left to give the Dukes a 72-71 win at Saint Francis, Pa. on Dec. 22 ... Achara finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds ... he added 17 points in 29 minutes before fouling out at Boston College ... Achara had a streak of four consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped at Saint Joseph's (1-of-8 for three points in 27 minutes) before bouncing back with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting at Saint Louis ... he played a key role in limiting SLU 6-10, 270-pound center Ian Vouyoukas to six points and seven field goal attempts in 34 minutes
• Freshman Robert Mitchell saw his streak of 12 consecutive games played ended when he was held out of the Saint Louis game for not being "accountable to himself and his teammates in practice," according to head coach Ron Everhart ... scored in double digits in his first nine collegiate games before being held to seven in 33 minutes at Saint Francis ... he has topped the 20-point mark in six of Duquesne's past 11 games ... the Jan. 3 game at Saint Joseph's was his first with under 10 field goal attempts (4-of-8) ... Mitchell is 4-of-18 from the 3-point arc in his past four games ... the Dukes are 1-7 when Mitchell leads the team in scoring
• Scott Grote hit 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, including 5-of-6 in overtime, in scoring 19 points in DU's come-from-behind 98-93 OT win at Boston College ... Grote, who is 5-of-33 from the 3-point arc in DU's past seven games, made the third of the five count as he drilled a trey from the right wing with 8.2 seconds left in regulation to force an extra frame in the win at BC ... Grote, who hit 13 of his first 29 3-point attempts (44.8%) to open the season, scored 17 of his 19 at BC in the second half to earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 31 ... the 3-pointer at BC was the second dramatic late-game shot for Grote, who converted a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left to give the Dukes a 77-76 win over UNC Asheville on Nov. 18 ... Grote has scored in double figures six times ... the Dukes are 4-2 in those games ... he is coming off one of his better floor games with five assists and one turnover in 31 minutes at Saint Louis
• Point guard Reggie Jackson shook off a two-game 1-of-13 shooting slump to hit 5-of-8 from the floor (including a season high three 3-pointers in five attempts) in scoring a season-high 13 points at Saint Louis ... he scored DU's first eight points of the second half to pull the Dukes within two in what became a 73-63 win ... it was just his second double-digit outing in DU's past 11 games ... Jackson added four assists and seven steals against the Billikens ... the seven steals, which were the most by a DU player since Mike James had seven vs. La Salle on Jan. 31, 1998, tied the second-highest single game total in school history ... had another solid game in the win at Boston College with six points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals ... Duquesne is 4-0 when Jackson scores in double digits
• Sophomore guard Phillip Fayne made his first start since Nov. 25 at Saint Louis ... he scored eight points and handed out four assists in 26 minutes vs. the Billikens ... Fayne is 10-of-19 from the field (52.6%) in his past four games ... he is 5-of-10 from the 3-point arc (7.5 ppg.) over that span
• Gary Tucker ended a three-game scoreless streak with seven points in 13 minutes at Boston College ... he followed that by hitting 5-of-6 free throws - all in the final 5:16 - of DU's come-from-behind win at Saint Louis
• DU is 4-0 when leading at the half.

DUKES ON THE ROAD

The road hasn't been kind to Duquesne in recent seasons, however first-year coach Ron Everhart's Dukes are changing that. DU won back-to-back road games for the first time since December of 1994 with a last-second 72-71 win at Saint Francis, Pa. on Dec. 22 followed by a 98-93 overtime victory at Boston College on Dec. 28. The win over Saint Francis snapped a 17-game nonconference road losing streak dating back to a 71-68 overtime win over Florida International on Dec. 28, 2002 in the title game of the FIU New Years Classic. The win over BC was the first-ever by a Duquesne team in an Atlantic Coast Conference team's arena (in 12 tries). The Dukes then followed an 89-41 loss at Saint Joseph's with a 73-63 victory at Saint Louis. The 10-point margin of victory at SLU tied DU's 11th-largest margin of victory in an Atlantic 10 road game. Earlier this season, DU showed glimpses of reversing its fortune on the road in a 73-72 loss at Robert Morris (the Dukes led by seven with 2:51 left) and a 78-74 setback at Niagara (Duquesne had a potential game-tying layup roll of the rim with under five seconds left). Duquesne has won two or fewer games on the road in nine of the past 11 seasons (DU won three road games in 2004-05 & 2003-04). The last time a DU team won more than three road games was in 1994-95 (5-8). Duquesne has yet to beat just one current Atlantic 10 member (not including Charlotte and Saint Louis) on the road in league play in Richmond (0-4). The Dukes had the Spiders on the ropes two years ago, only to fall when UR scored with eight-tenths of a second left to win 72-71 at Robins Center. DU's top road victims in A-10 play are: Rhode Island (9 wins, 2003-04 last), St. Bonaventure (9 wins, 2005-06 last), George Washington (6 wins, 1999-00 last) and UMass (5 wins, 1988-89 last). The Dukes are 2-5 on the road this season.