March 2, 2007

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DUKES CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON AT GW

Duquesne (10-17, 6-9) completes the 2006-07 regular season at George Washington (19-8, 10-5) on Saturday, March 3 at 2:00 p.m. (KQV radio 1410 AM; on the web at RedZoneMedia.com).

This is Senior Day for the Colonials who are 11-1 at home this season. George Washington's lone home loss - to Xavier on Feb. 10 - snapped a 24-game home win streak. GW, coming off a 62-60 win over Charlotte on Thursday night, is in a four-way battle with Rhode Island, Fordham and Saint Joseph's for an Atlantic 10 Championship bye. The Colonials control their own destiny, with a win over the Dukes guaranteeing one of two remaining byes up for grabs.

The Dukes, who saw their losing streak reach six in an 87-74 non-conference home loss to Akron on Monday, are currently tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 with Temple. DU can finish no worse than 11th and no better than 8th depending on the outcome of Saturday's games. Of the three other teams jockeying for the 8th through 11th spots, the Dukes hold a tiebreaker edge over Temple (6-9) and Dayton (7-8), while Charlotte (6-9) would win a tiebreaker with Duquesne. There are numerous other possibilities involving potential three- and four-way ties. It will all be sorted out by roughly 9:00 p.m. Saturday night. Here are key games for the Dukes to watch:

Temple (6-9) at Fordham (9-6)              1:00Saint Louis (8-7) at Dayton (7-8)          7:00St. Bonaventure (4-11) at Charlotte (6-9)  7:00

DUQUESNE LATELY

• Duquesne, picked to finish 13th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 in a preseason poll of league coaches and media (voting done prior to a Sept. 17 campus shooting that saw five DU players injured), clinched a spot in the 2007 A-10 Championship on Feb. 24
• DU, which began the season with seven scholarship players, is currently competing with eight ... of the 10 players on the current active roster, just one is over 6-6 (6-10 junior Kieron Achara)
• Achara is averaging 18.9 ppg., 8.9 rpg. and 3.1 blocks in 24.0 min. per game in his past 8 g. ... the Stirling, Scotland native, who began the week ranked 21st nationally in blocked shots per game (2.5 bpg.), has 15 rejections in his past four games ... he needs 8 more blocks to break the single-season record of 60 set and tied by Derrick Alston in 1991-92 & 1992-93
• The Dukes bring a 5-8 road record to GW ... the last time DU won six road games was 1985-86 (6-8) ... DU is also 3-4 in A-10 road games ... the last time the Dukes won four conference road games was in 1980-81 (4-3) ... 14 of Duquesne's 27 games have been decided by six or fewer points (DU is 8-6 in those games).

DUKES AND COLONIALS

George Washington, which leads the overall series 41-23, has won 21 of the past 24 meetings, including the last five in a row ... two of DU's three wins over that span have come in the past eight games - with both coming at the Palumbo Center ... at Washington, D.C., George Washington leads 22-6 ... Duquesne's last win at GW was on Jan. 8, 2000 when DU scored 59 first-half points and held on for a 94-89 win (that's a span of five games) ... DU's last series win was at the Palumbo Center on Feb. 19, 2003 by a 78-73 score ... last year, No. 14 (AP) George Washington defeated the Dukes 94-78 at Pittsburgh ... in that game, Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored a career-high 29 for GW and Bryant McAllister scored 23 for the Dukes who trailed by just five with 6:17 left before the Colonials closed with an 18-7 run for the final margin.

QUICK NOTES

• Duquesne began the week ranked 20th nationally in scoring and seventh in free throw percentage
• Every player on the active roster (including five true freshmen, two of whom are walk ons) has played in at least 14 games ... all 10 players on the active roster are averaging double-digit minutes and have scored in double digits at least once this season ... nine of the 10 hit at least one 3-pointer in the win at St. Bonaventure and the loss to Rhode Island
• DU, who earlier this season scored 12 points in a half (the first half at Saint Joseph's on Jan. 3), has scored 50 in a half seven times in the past 12 games
• DU, which has 435 team assists and 406 turnovers, has assisted on 58.2 percent of its field goals
• The Dukes are 127-of-349 (36.4%) from the 3-point arc in their past 12 games after shooting 30.1 percent in their first 15
• Through Wednesday's games Duquesne ranked first in the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (78.3), free throw percentage (.754) and assists (16.11 apg.), fourth in steals (7.22), second in turnover margin & fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio
• Robert Mitchell (11 times), Kieron Achara (five times), Aaron Jackson (three times) and Scott Grote & Reggie Jackson (twice each) have all topped the 20-point mark
• Reggie Jackson has made his last 21 free throw attempts (last miss was Feb. 3 at St. Bonaventure)
• #1 - AARON JACKSON: Aaron Jackson, who led all Atlantic 10 returnees with a 1.73-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season, has a team-high 102 assists this year ... his 1.76-to-1 ratio ranks fourth in the A-10, his 3.78 assists/g. rank seventh and 1.41 steals rank ninth in the A-10 ... 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 14 in 27 games this season ... he has led DU in assists a team-best 16 times and is second to Kieron Achara for most times leading the team in rebounding (10) ... Jackson, who splits time at both guard spots, leads the team with 63 offensive boards, including a spectacular put-back dunk at Boston College ... the Hartford, Conn. native put together one of the top stat lines by an A-10 player this season with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a career-high 5 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 7 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 ... Jackson topped the 20-point mark for the second time this season (and second time of his career) with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the win over Temple ... he added 7 rebounds and 6 assists vs. the Owls ... Jackson scored a career-high 22 vs. Northern Illinois (9-of-11 from the field) on Nov. 20 and scored 15 of his career high-tying 22 points in the final 2:34 at La Salle to help the Dukes erase a seven-point deficit in a 111-105 win ... went scorless for just the third time in 52 career games vs. Charlotte (0-of-4) ... did contribute a team-high 9 boards vs. the 49ers ... had 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals vs. Akron.
• #2 - KIERON ACHARA: Six-ten junior forward/center Kieron Achara, who was diagnosed with three stress fractures in his left foot on Nov. 10, discarded the protective boot he wore for three weeks on Dec. 2 ... he began practicing on Monday, Dec. 4 and made an unexpected return at Pitt (18 minutes) two days later ... 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. - and end a seven-game losing streak - on Dec. 22 ... Achara finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds ... he also went 2-of-4 from the 3-point arc against the Red Flash ... Achara entered the Saint Francis game 1-of-14 from the arc for his career ... he added 17 points in 29 minutes before fouling out at Boston College ... 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 in a 73-63 win at SLU ... went 3-of-7 from the 3-point arc in scoring 17 at UMass ... blocked four shots, including a big rejection of a Brian Roberts shot with under 10 seconds left, in the 93-89 win over Dayton ... tied his career high with 22 points (7-of-9 from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line) in 26 minutes vs. Temple ... his two free throws with 38 seconds left gave the Dukes the lead for good against the Owls ... posted his first double-double of the season (and 10th of his career) with a then career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes at St. Bonavneture ... followed that with a double-double at La Salle (17-11 with 4 blocks) ... just missed his third and fourth-straight double-doubles with 16-9 vs. Rhode Island and 13-9 at Richmond before going for 20 and 11 at Fordham ... tied his career high with five rejections to go along with 16 points vs. Charlotte ... set a new career high with 26 vs. St. Bonaventure on Feb. 24 ... his 134 career blocks rank second on DU's all-time list & his .528 field goal pct. (300-of-568) ranks fifth all-time.
• #3 - REGGIE JACKSON: Point guard Reggie Jackson ranks second on the team with 91 assists (has 59 turnovers for a 1.5-to-1 ratio) ... also second on the team with 33 steals ... has eight five-plus assist games with a high of eight vs. Charlotte ... scored a career-high 23 points in 23 minutes in the win at La Salle on Feb. 7 ... went 7-of-7 from the foul line, including 4-of-4 in the final 1:20 to help seal the win ... added four steals, including a big deflection that led to an Aaron Jackson dunk with 1:05 left against the Explorers ... hit 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc in scoring 22 points in 26 minutes at UMass ... added 14 in 21 minutes - including four clutch free throws in the final nine seconds - versus Temple ... hit 5-of-8 from the floor (3-of-5 from 3-point) in scoring 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 ... 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 a solid game in the win at Boston College with six points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals ... has 10 double-digit scoring games and eight games with three or fewer points ... has hit his last 21 free throw attempts (over the past seven games) ... DU is 7-3 when Jackson scores in double digits.
• #23 - ROBERT MITCHELL: Freshman Robert Mitchell has been named A-10 Rookie of the Week a league-high - and Duquesne school record - five times ... his 16.1 ppg. scoring average is challenging the school freshman single-season mark of 16.6 set by Wayne Smith in 1998-99 ... 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 ... saw a streak of three consecutive 20-point games ended with 10 in the win over Temple before bouncing back to score 26 - including 19 in 11 first-half minutes - against Xavier ... was 4-of-4 from the 3-point arc vs. the Musketeers ... Mitchell, who has scored in double digits in 22 of 26 games, had 10 or more in his first nine collegiate games before being held to seven in 33 minutes at Saint Francis ... has scored fewer than 10 in three of DU's past seven games, including a season-low one point (0-of-11) vs. Akron on Feb. 26 ... has topped the 20-point mark a team-high 11 times and led the team in scoring on 13 occasions ... his 29 points at Robert Morris on Dec. 2 is the fourth-highest total ever by a Duquesne freshman ... scored 17 of his team-high 24 in the second half to help the Dukes erase a 10-point deficit in a 93-89 win over Dayton on Jan. 24 ... is one of two A-10 freshmen leading his team in scoring ... Richmond's Dan Geriot (11.1 ppg.) is the other.
• #30 - SCOTT GROTE: Scott Grote (Grote-EE) scored 14 of his game high-tying 23 points in the second half to help the Dukes rally from an eight-point deficit to defeat Youngstown State 81-75 in the season opener ... his 23 points tied for third-most by a Duquesne player in his first varsity game ... Grote, who missed four free throws in the final 43 seconds, was three shy of tying the record of 26 set by Tom Pipkins versus Robert Morris in the 1993-94 opener ... as one of three freshman starters in the season opener vs. YSU, Grote added nine rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes ... he converted two game-deciding free throws with 1.3 seconds left and intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass to give the Dukes a 77-76 win over UNC Asheville on Nov. 18 ... he also hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left to force overtime in a 98-93 win at Boston College ... Grote scored 17 of his 19 after the half in helping the Dukes to the school's first-ever win in an Atlantic Coast Conference arena and earn A-10 Rookie of the Week honors ... Grote, who hit 13 of his first 29 3-point attempts (44.8%) to open the season, went through a 13-game 9-of-50 stretch, before converting 11-of-23 (47.8%) in DU's past eight games ... had one of his better floor games with five assists and one turnover in 31 minutes at Saint Louis ... has scored in double digits in seven of DU's past 11 games ... had 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 25 minutes versus Xavier and 11 points and six boards in 19 minutes at St. Bonaventure ... the SBU game was his first with more than one 3-pointer (2-of-5) since Dec. 2 at RMU (3-of-4) ... went 3-of-3 from the arc at Fordham & vs. Akron.
• #20 - PHILLIP FAYNE: Sophomore guard Phillip Fayne started four of the first five games of the season ... scored eight points and handed out four assists in 26 minutes in a start at Saint Louis ... also started against La Salle before the Dukes adopted their 1040 playing style ... scored in double digits in each of the first two games of the season (11 vs. Youngstown State & 10 vs. UNC Asheville) before breaking a streak of 24 games under 10 points with a career-best 12 vs. Akron ... had a season-high three steals vs. Charlotte ... is 9-of-22 (40.9%) from the arc in his past seven games.
• #22 - GARY TUCKER: Junior guard Gary Tucker is averaging 10.0 ppg. and shooting 55.3 percent from the field since Duquesne adopted a more uptempo playing style (12 g.) ... he has scored in double digits eight times in 12 games since the change (compared to three in his first 14 g.)... scored a season-high 17 points (7-of-10) in 22 minutes against Xavier, had 15 on 6-of-9 shooting vs. Charlotte and 14 on 6-of-6 shooting at St. Bona. ...scored 13 each both at La Salle & vs. Rhode Island ... his previous high game was 11 on three occasions (vs. Northern Illinois, at Robert Morris and vs. Dayton) ... hit 5-of-6 free throws - all in the final 5:16 - of DU's come-from-behind win at Saint Louis ... added four assists and four steals to go along with 11 points in 14 minutes versus Dayton ... finished the UD game 6-of-6 from the line ... owner of a pair of acrobatic three-point plays on alley-oop dunks (vs. Dayton and at St. Bonaventure) ... took off from the first dash beyond the block on the outside of the key for a rim-rattling dunk vs. Charlotte.
• #31 - STEPHEN WOOD: Freshman Stephen Wood has played in 25 of 27 games ... has scored in double digits twice (11 in the season-opener vs. Youngstown State and 12 at #2 (AP) Pitt) ... has attempted 66 3-pointers ... shooting 22.5 percent in conference play (10-of-45 from 3-point).
• #4 - JIMMY SHERWOOD & #43 JASON DUTY: Freshman walk ons Jason Duty and Jimmy Sherwood made their first career starts on Jan. 21 at UMass ... Duty, who had played in six games (two A-10) prior to UMass, scored seven points in 18 minutes vs. the Minutemen ... Sherwood, who played a total of two minutes in the 15 games prior to UMass, grabbed a rebound in 11 minutes of action ... Sherwood scored his first four career points in 17 minutes vs. Dayton and added three rebounds in 16 minutes versus Temple ... followed a seven-point outing at St. Bonaventure (including his first career 3-pointer) by hitting 5-of-6 3-point attempts in scoring a career-high 15 at La Salle ... Sherwood entered the La Salle game with a total of 15 points in his first seven games played ... added five boards in 17 minutes at St. Bonaventure ... Sherwood added eight points and a career high five assists with no turnovers in a career-high 19 minutes at Fordham and followed that with 13 points in 15 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting vs. Charlotte ... he has scored 55 of his 63 points this season in Duquesne's past eight games (6.9 ppg.) ... Sherwood and Duty combined for a key play in the win over Dayton ... with the Dukes down one with a minute left, Sherwood deflected a UD inbounds pass that was scooped up by Duty who was fouled and converted a pair of free throws to give DU its first lead since the 15 minute mark ... Duty keyed a late-game eight-point comeback by hitting a clutch 3-pointer to pull the Dukes within two with 2:46 left ... Duty, who hit 10 of his first 17 3-point attempts (in nine games), is 4-of-28 from the arc in his past nine ... 45 of his 54 field goal attempts have come from beyond the 3-point arc ... has not missed a free throw since a pair of late-game misses vs. Temple on Jan. 27 (he's 8-of-8 since and 14-of-17 on the season).

Kieron Achara was as hot as any player in the Atlantic 10 in the month of February. In eight February games, the 6-10 center is averaged 18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots per game. The impressive thing is that Achara, who posted three double-doubles over that span, has put up those numbers in an economical 24.0 minutes per game. Achara, who missed the first six games of 2006-07 with stress fractures in his foot, needs 8 more rejections to break the school single-season record of 60 set by Derrick Alston in 1991-92 and matched by Alston in 1992-93.

YEAR OF THE FRESHMAN:

Robert Mitchell, who was tied for ninth among the nation's top freshman scorers through games of Feb. 28, is coming off his roughest outing as a Duke with one point on 0-of-11 shooting in 19 minutes vs. Akron. Mitchell, a five-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, saw his average drop from 16.68 ppg. to 16.1 ppg. following the Akron game. The Brooklyn native still has a shot a breaking the school freshman record of 16.64 set by Wayne Smith in 1998-99.

#  P Name            HT   Cl  Pts   Reb  G/GS   Hometown30 F Scott Grote     6-6  Fr. 10.0  4.1  27/20  Centerville, Ohio     8-of-12 (66.7%) from 3-point in his past four games 2 C Kieron Achara   6-10 Jr. 15.6  6.9  21/14  Stirling, Scotland     Began week ranked 21st nationally in blocks per game (2.5)22 G Gary Tucker     6-0  Jr.  7.0  2.0  26/ 9  Pensacola, Fla.     Double-digit scorer in seven of past nine games 1 G Aaron Jackson   6-2  So. 11.3  4.9  27/21 Hartford, Conn.     Shooting 52.0% from the field;  team-high 102 assists3  G Reggie Jackson  5-10 Jr.  7.5  1.5  27/17  Hogansville, Ga.     Dukes are 7-3 when he scores 10 or more

23 F Robert Mitchell 6-6  Fr. 16.1  5.2  26/18  Brooklyn, N.Y.     School record five-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week20 G Phillip Fayne   6-2  So.  5.2  1.6  27/11  Carbondale, Ill.     Career high 12 points in 18 minutes vs. Akron43 G Jason Duty      5-11 Fr.  3.8  0.8  18/ 6  Cranberry, Twp., Pa.     Late add walk-on; 45 of 54 FGA have been from 3-pt. range 4 F Jimmy Sherwood  6-1  Fr.  4.5  1.4  14/ 6  Sharon, Mass.     13 points in 15 minutes (4-of-5 from field) vs. Charlotte31 F Stephen Wood    6-3  Fr.  4.0  1.5  25/12  S. Jamaica, N.Y.     Has two double-digit scoring games (last 12/6 at Pitt)