Feb. 4, 2007

PITTSBURGH - Freshman forward Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y./Notre Dame (Mass.) Prep) has been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for a school record fifth time this season after averaging 19.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in Duquesne wins over Xavier and St. Bonaventure last week.

Mitchell, who became the first Atlantic 10 freshman since George Washington's SirValiant Brown (1999-00) to be named Rookie of the Week for three consecutive weeks when he was named the league's top rookie on Nov 26, Dec. 4 & Dec. 10, has surpassed Kevin Price (1995), Tom Pipkins (1994) and Tony Petrarca (1987) who were all four-time Duquesne Rookies of the Week.

Mitchell , who was also named Rookie of the Week on Jan. 28, scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the first half in helping the Dukes to a 93-91 win over Xavier on Jan. 31. He followed that with 13 points in DU's 111-92 win at St. Bonaventure on Saturday.

For the week, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native shot .630 (17-of-27) from the field and made 5-of-6 shots from the 3-point arc.

Mitchell's award is the ninth by a Duquesne player or team this year (three Players of the Week and six Rookies of the Week), shattering the previous school record for A-10 honors in a season set by the 1994-94 NIT Dukes (two Players of the Week and four Rookies of the Week).

The 6-6 Mitchell, who has ranked among the nation's top freshman scorers all season, leads the Dukes - and ranks third in the Atlantic 10 - with an 18.1 ppg. scoring average. He has led the team in scoring 12 times and has scored in double digits in 18 of the 19 games in which he has played.

Mitchell, who has now won A-10 Rookie of the Week honors a league-high five times, is a strong candidate for the league's Rookie of the Year honor which will be awarded at the end of the regular season. The last - and only - Duquesne player to be named conference Rookie of the Year was Bruce Atkins in 1977.

Duquesne (9-11, 5-4), winner of its past four games, returns to action at La Salle at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The Dukes, who are the first team in school history to score 90 or more points in four consecutive games, set a new school record for points in a road game in Saturday's 111-92 win at St. Bonaventure.