Jan. 26, 2008

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PITTSBURGH -- Shawn James, who missed Wednesday's win over St. Bonaventure with a knee injury, returned in style by posting a season-high 21 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in Duquesne's (13-5, 3-2) 92-67 Atlantic 10 Conference win over George Washington (5-10, 1-4) at the Palumbo Center.

With his second block - at the 5:46 mark of the first half - James became the 18th player in NCAA Division I history to post 400 career blocked shots. The 6-10 junior entered the game ranked fifth nationally in blocks per game at 4.1. He now has 403 blocked shots in 72 career games.

The win snapped a six-game series losing streak for the Dukes who upped their home record to 9-1. George Washington dropped its eighth consecutive road game to fall to 5-10 overall. The 25-point margin of victory was the largest by Duquesne in the 66-game series history, one point better than an 84-60 DU win over the Colonials on Dec. 10, 1965.

Duquesne's 13 wins are its most since the 1993-94 NIT team finished 17-13.

"I'm excited about the way we shared the ball tonight," said Duquesne coach Ron Everhart. "Twenty-two assists on 31 field goals is good for any coach to see."

Kojo Mensah was the only other Duquesne player in double figures with 13 as eight different players scored six or more. Mensah had a game-high six assists and six rebounds. Phillip Fayne and Damian Saunders had three steals each.

Wynton Witherspoon led George Washington with 17. Rob Diggs added 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Colonials.

James who bruised the underside of his left kneecap and suffered a mild medial collateral ligament sprain in the same knee during practice on Monday, went 8-of-11 from the field. He had a dunk and 3-pointer in the first 5:30 as the Dukes raced out to a 22-8 lead. Duquesne's lead reached as many as 26 points in the first half as the Dukes held the Colonials to one field goal over an 11:07 stretch.

"I really wanted to get back out there and get my wind back ... and help our team win," said James.

Duquesne, which once again employed its 1040 attack featuring five-man substitutions and relentless pressure, forced 15 GW turnovers in the first half as nine of the 10 Dukes who played scored.

Duquesne maintained at least a 20 point lead for the game's final 17 minutes.

"We were fortunate to create some turnovers and score off them early," said Everhart. "We played with a lot of emotion."

The Dukes shot 50.8 percent from the field and forced an opponent season-high 29 turnovers.

Duquesne completes its three-game homestand against Massachusetts (13-5, 2-2 entering Sunday's game against Xavier) on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

NOTES
• Duquesne's 13 wins are its most since the 1993-94 NIT Dukes finished 17-13. DU's nine home wins (9-1) are also its most since the `94 team went 12-3.
• This was Duquesne's largest margin of victory in the 66-game series that dates back to 1932. DU's previous largest margin was 24 in an 84-60 win over the Colonials in the opening round of the Steel Bowl on Dec. 10, 1965.
• Duquesne's largest lead was 32 points at the 8:28 mark of the second half.
• The Dukes extended their home winning streak to six.
• DU's last win over George Washington was at home on Feb. 19, 2003. The win ended a six-game Colonials series win streak.