Dec. 8, 2007

Box Score

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Joe Alexander scored a game and career-high 26 points and West Virginia shot a Duquesne opponent-high 55.9 percent from the field in handing the Dukes a 92-68 defeat at WVU Coliseum.

The loss was the Duquesne's third in a row after a 6-0 start. West Virginia upped its record to 7-1.

Da'Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff added 18 and 15 points for the Mountaineers. Shawn James and Reggie Jackson led Duquesne with 18 and 13 points respectively.

Duquesne, which allowed just one of its first eight opponents to shoot over 40 percent, fell behind 48-37 at the half as WVU hit 20-of-33 shots (60.6%), with Butler going 6-of-7 for 15 points. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Dukes 23-6 in the opening 20 minutes.

Duquesne got no closer than 11 early in the second half as Alexander scored 18 including 8-of-8 from the foul line. The WVU lead reached as many as 25 in the second half.

"We got beat by a better basketball team," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "They took us out of everything we tried to do. Defensively, we couldn't guard them. They played five guards and made us come out on the floor. They outquicked our big guys all night."

Duquesne shot 41.5 percent, including 4-of-15 from the 3-point arc. The Dukes went 20-of-30 from the foul line and were outrebounded 38-24. James and Damian Saunders lead DU with five rebounds each.

"We had some good looks, but just didn't shoot it well," said Everhart. "That's going to happen, but you've still got to rebound the basketball."

DU's four steals and two blocked shots were both season lows.

Duquesne breaks for final exams before returning to action when it hosts Saint Francis, Pa. at the Palumbo Center on Fri., Dec. 21.

NOTES

• West Virginia's 55.9 percent effort from the field easily eclipsed the previous Duquesne opponent high of 41.0 percent set by No.12 (AP) Pitt on Wednesday. Pitt was the first team to shoot over 40 percent against the Dukes this season.
• Duquesne is shooting 14-of-65 from the 3-point arc (21.5%) and has been outrebounded 121-101 during its three-game losing streak.
• Shawn James, who entered the game averaging 5.95 blocked shots per game for his career, recorded his only rejection when he got a piece of an Alex Ruoff jumper with 6:52 left. James has blocked at least one shot in every college game he has played (64 total games).
• Reggie Jackson's 13 points were a season high. It was the first time he scored in double digits this season.