Nov. 1, 2008
Box Score
PITTSBURGH - Aaron Jackson had 13 points, six rebounds and nine assists and Damian Saunders added 17 points, four steals and three blocks to lead Duquesne to a 93-71 win over St. Vincent in DU's exhibition opener at the Palumbo Center.
Freshman Eric Evans added 15 points and four assists in 18 turnover-free minutes for the Dukes. Bill Clark (12 points) and B.J. Monteiro (11 points) also scored in double figures for DU.
Mike Medved scored a game-high 19 for St. Vincent.
St. Vincent jumped out to a 15-8 lead before Duquesne answered with a Saunders dunk and Jackson layup to cut the lead to three. Duquesne took the lead for good on a Bill Clark 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the half. Clark's three was the first of the game for the Dukes who misfired on their first seven attempts from the new 20-foot, nine-inch arc.
Duquesne, despite going 5-of-15 from the foul line, led 39-27 at the half. Jimmy Sherwood converted a four-point play 30 seconds into the second half to ignite a 14-5 run that put the Dukes up 53-32. DU maintained at least a 16 point lead the rest of the way.
Duquesne's largest lead of 26 points came on a Saunders dunk with 49 seconds left.
"Aaron and Damian both played well," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "Aaron didn't turn the ball over in the second half, and as a team we only turned it over twice in the second half. That was a point of emphasis for us at halftime.
"I liked the way Eric [Evans] is playing right now," continued Everhart. "He's coming in and taking the bull by the horns. He was able to score when we needed it and also passed the ball well. I liked the way B.J. [Monteiro] stepped up. A lot of guys gave us some good minutes."
Monteiro, who was the first of Duquesne's eight freshmen off the bench, finished with a team-high three 3-point field goals.
Duquesne, which was 2-of-10 from the arc in the first half, hit 7-of-15 in the second half to finish at 36 percent.
The Dukes, who assisted on 24 of 36 field goals and shot 58.1 percent from the field, went 12-of-31 from the foul line for the game. DU forced 24 turnovers in outscoring the Bearcats 28-10 in points off turnovers.
"I look at exhibition games as something that just gets in the way of practice," said Everhart. "We've got a lot of work to do right now. We just need practice time."
Duquesne completes the exhibition portion of its schedule at home vs. Seton Hill on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 5:00 p.m. DU opens the regular season at home versus High Point on Nov. 14.
NOTES: St. Vincent returns six of its top players (including four starters) from last year's 22-4 ECAC Division-II championship squad ... three of the returning starters are seniors ... veterans Aaron Jackson, Jason Duty, Bill Clark, Jimmy Sherwood and Damian Saunders started the game for the Dukes ... B.J. Monteiro was the first of DU's eight freshmen to enter the game ... the Dukes missed their first seven 3-point attempts before Bill Clark broke the ice with 5:32 left in the first half ... St. Vincent's largest lead was 15-8 with 13:10 left in the first half ... Duquesne's was 90-64 with :49 left ... St. Vincent went 4-of-21 from the 3-point arc ... seven of Duquesne's eight freshman saw playing time ... the only freshman who did not play was F/C Oliver Lewinson who did not dress for the game due to a sprained ankle.
