Jan. 30, 2008
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PITTSBURGH -- Gary Forbes led a trio of 20-point scorers with 23 as Massachusetts (14-6, 3-3) held Duquesne to a season-low 34.2 percent shooting in a 94-80 win over the Dukes (13-6, 3-3) at the Palumbo Center.
With the win, UMass ended Duquesne's six-game home win streak while extending its series streak to four.
Kieron Achara and Kojo Mensah led Duquesne, which dropped to 9-2 at home, with 14 points each.
"UMass did a great job of getting out on the break and we didn't get back very well," said Duquesne coach Ron Everhart. "We got outran tonight on the defensive end. It was basically UMass beating us at our own game."
Duquesne took a 28-24 lead on a Reggie Jackson 3-pointer at the 9:23 mark, but would score just one more field goal the rest of the half as UMass put together a 20-7 run to take a 44-35 lead.
Ricky Harris scored eight of his 13 first-half points to key the run.
The Minutemen picked up where they left off, holding the Dukes without a field goal over the first 3:55 of the second half to up the lead to 57-41. UMass took a 20-point lead on a Tony Gaffney layup with 12:28 remaining.
DU rallied to cut it to 11 with just over two minutes left, but could never get the lead to single digits.
Duquesne, which entered the game ranked 40th nationally and third in the Atlantic 10 with a 73.6 free throw percentage, went 20-of-36 from the foul line. The Dukes were 7-of-14 from the stripe including the missed front end of three one-and-ones in the first half.
"When we beat them down the floor, we got fouled and missed the free throws," said Everhart. "We were able to get to the rim. They ended up blocking a lot of shots because we didn't make the extra pass."
Massachusetts, led by a career-high six blocks from Gaffney, rejected a total of 10 Duquesne field goal attempts. DU was credited with two blocks - both by 6-1 Gary Tucker - as Shawn James, who entered the game having blocked at least one shot in every game of his career, went without a rejection for the first time in 73 games.
Etienne Brower, who finished with 21 points, went 5-of-5 from the 3-point arc as the Minutemen hit six of their nine 3-pointers in the second half. Harris finished with 21.
James had 13 points and eight rebounds and Bill Clark added 11 points for Duquesne.
Duquesne, which finished 2-1 on its three-game homestand, plays six of its next nine on the road beginning at St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 4:00 p.m.
NOTES
• Despite the loss, the Dukes finished the month of January with a 4-3 record. The last time a Duquesne team had a winning January was 1983-84 (5-4).
• UMass' 94 points were a Duquesne opponent high. The Minutemen, who shot 51.5 percent for the game, were just the second team to shoot better than 47.5 percent against the Dukes this season.
• UMass outscored the Dukes 44-30 in the paint and 18-8 in fast break points.
• Duquesne's two blocks tied the season low set in a 92-68 loss at West Virginia on Dec. 8.
