Dec. 8, 2007
Complete Game Notes
DUQUESNE (6-2) at WEST VIRGINIA (6-1)
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007 • 7:00 p.m. (EST)
WVU Coliseum (14,000) • Morgantown, W.Va.
TELEVISION: ESPN Full Court/FSN Pittsburgh with John Sanders & Bob Valvano
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
DUQUESNE INTERNET BROADCAST: redzonemedia.com
Duquesne (6-2), coming off a 73-68 home loss to No. 12 (AP) Pitt on Wednesday, travels to Morgantown to face its second-straight Big East foe when it meets the West Virginia Mountaineers (6-1) at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8. It is also the second consecutive television game for the Dukes (ESPN Full Court/Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh).
Duquesne, which has lost two in a row after opening the season with six consecutive wins, battled back from a 17-point first half deficit to pull within one with 2:04 left, but couldn't get over the hump against the Panthers. Shawn James led the Dukes with 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. The Dukes held Pitt to .410 shooting but couldn't overcome their own 2-of-20 effort from the 3-point arc.
West Virginia has been impressive in posting a +31.0 points per game margin of victory in its first seven games. The Mountaineers lone loss was by two points (74-72) to nationally ranked Tennessee on Nov. 23 at the StubHub Classic in Newark, N.J. WVU is 4-0 at home having won the four games by 28, 65, 66 and 17 point margins (that's an average of +44 ppg. at WVU Coliseum).
The Mountaineers have won four in a row overall including an 88-59 victory over Auburn on Wednesday night in the Big East/SEC Invitational at Birmingham, Ala. Alex Ruoff paced WVU with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
DUQUESNE LATELY: Duquesne, which opened the season with six-straight wins for the first time in 28 years, has lost its last two ... the Dukes lost by four to Drake in the title game of the Iowa Realty Invitational and followed that with a 73-68 home loss to No. 12 (AP) Pitt ... Duquesne's quick start can be contributed to its defensive improvement ... the Dukes, who held two of 29 opponents under 40 percent in finishing ranked 324th of 325 NCAA Division I teams in field goal pct. defense (.507) last season, are holding opponents to .353 this year ... Pitt (.410) was the first team to shoot over 40 percent against DU this year ... Duquesne has assisted on 157 of its 248 field goals (63.3%) ... the Dukes have outscored opponents 380-254 in the second half (+15.8 points/g.) ... DU, which ranked 306th (of 325 schools) in rebounding margin last year (-5.7 rpg.), is outboarding opponents by a +5.1 margin ... DU, bolstered by first-year transfer Shawn James, is averaging 9.3 blocked shots per game ... James has rejected 42 shots this season, including a school and Atlantic 10 record 12 at Oakland on November 20.
DUKES & MOUNTAINEERS: This is the 83rd meeting between Duquesne and West Virginia ... it also marks the 35th consecutive season (since 1973-74) the Dukes and Mountaineers have met at least once on the hardwood ... WVU leads the series, which dates back to Jan. 30, 1915, 46-36 ... in games played at Morgantown,West Virginia leads 30-12 ... Duquesne won four of five from 1998-99 to 2002-03 before WVU began a streak of four-straight series wins with an 88-84 overtime win in 2003-04 .... in 1998-99, the Dukes defeated the Mountaineers 59-50 at the Palumbo Center and followed that with a 94-80 win at Wheeling, W.Va. in a game that was moved due to asbestos abatement at WVU Coliseum ... in 2000-01, Duquesne - which returned from a tournament at Hawaii the afternoon before the game - dropped an 81-73 decision to West Virginia at the Palumbo Center ... six year's ago Danny Nee's inaugural Duquesne team snapped a 22-game road and 18-game arena losing streak with a 68-61 win at WVU Coliseum ... in 2002-03 the Dukes took an 86-82 decision at the Palumbo Center ... four year's ago - in a game during which Duquesne led by as many as 16 points in the first half and nine at the half - Drew Schifino scored 27 of his game-high 29 points in the second half to lead West Virginia to an 88-84 overtime win at Morgantown ... Schfino's effort prevented DU from winning three in a row at WVU for the first time since the early 1930s ... two year's ago WVU led from wire-to-wire in an 86-66 win at Morgantown ... Aaron Jackson is the only player on the current Dukes roster to have played in a game at WVU Coliseum ... Jackson, a freshman at the time, was 5-of-6 from the field in scoring 12 points in the 86-66 loss in 2005-06.
EVERHART VS. WVU/BIG EAST: This is the fourth game against West Virginia for second-year Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. Everhart, a native of Fairmont, W.Va., first faced the Mountaineers on Dec. 4, 1999, when his McNeese State team lost to WVU 93-84 at Wheeling. Coincidentally, the 1999-00 Mountaineers were coming off a 94-80 loss to Duquesne in the previous game - also in Wheeling. 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. Last year, WVU hit 17 3-pointers in an 85-54 win at the Palumbo Center. Everhart is 2-10 all-time vs. the Big East, with 10 of the 12 games on the road. Everhart's other Big East win came on Jan. 5, 2003 when he led Northeastern - minus two starters - to Chestnut Hill, Mass. and posted one of the biggest road wins in school history by defeating Boston College 72-67. It marked just the third time in 35 meetings that Northeastern defeated BC (it was also the last meeting between the two schools).
EVERHART AND HUGGINS: This is the second time West Virginia natives Ron Everhart and Bob Huggins will lead their teams against each other. On Dec. 30, 1995, Everhart's McNeese State team lost to Huggins' 5th ranked (AP) Cincinnati Bearcats 103-69 at UC's Shoemaker Center. The 1995-96 Bearcats, led by Danny Fortson, went on to finish 28-5 in advancing to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Everhart, who was in his second season at McNeese, guided the Cowboys to a 15-12 record. Everhart first met Huggins when Huggins was a player at West Virginia and Everhart was in junior high. "I remember rebounding for him in the gym," said Everhart a self-confessed gym rat. Huggins befriended Everhart and the relationship has carried on for the past 30-plus years. "I have a lot of admiration and respect for Hugs," said Everhart. "He was one of those older guys who looked out for you and kind of took you under his wing, and you remember that. When we got older he helped me a lot on the professional level. We've always stayed in touch. He's a big-hearted guy who is also a hall of fame-caliber coach."
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE: Duquesne, which ranked 324th of 325 NCAA Division I programs in field goal percentage defense last season (.507), held its first seven opponents under the 38 percent shooting before Pitt broke the 40 percent mark by hitting 25-of-61 shots (.410) against the Dukes on Wednesday. In 29 games last season, DU held opponents under 40 percent twice. In addition, the Dukes have blocked 74 shots in eight games (9.3 bpg.). Six-ten first-year transfer Shawn James, who led the NCAA in blocked shots in 2005-06 at Northeastern, leads the way with 42 rejections followed by freshman Damian Saunders with 12 and graduate student Kieron Achara with 10.
