Nov. 24, 2008

Complete Game Notes

DUQUESNE (3-0) at USC UPSTATE (0-3)
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 • 7:00 p.m. (EST)
G.B. Hodge Center (1,535) • Spartanburg, S.C.

DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
STREAMING AUDIO: redzonemedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
STREAMING VIDEO: through the USC Upstate web site via ASun.TV ($5.99)

DUKES HEAD TO THE CAROLINAS FOR TWO: Duquesne, which moved to 3-0 with an 85-65 home win over Furman on Sunday afternoon, heads south for its longest road trip of the season beginning with a game at South Carolina Upstate on Tuesday, Nov. 25 (KQV-AM 1410). The Dukes are looking to go 4-0 for the second consecutive season. Last year, DU opened 6-0 - its best start in 28 years - in going on to post the school's first winning record in 14 years at 17-13. This is South Carolina Upstate's lone home game until Jan. 3. The Spartans, who are coming off a 75-53 loss at South Carolina on Saturday, have also played at Georgia (L, 72-48) and at Notre Dame (L, 94-58). Junior forward Bobby Davis leads Upstate with a 12.3 ppg. scoring average. He is also averaging 8.7 rebounds per game. Junior center Nick Schneiders, at 7-3, is the tallest player in USC Upstate history. Schneiders, who blocked five shots in the loss at South Carolina, is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game. Duquesne got 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists from Bob Cousy Award nominee (nation's top collegiate point guard) Aaron Jackson in the win over Furman. Following the Upstate game, the Dukes will bus to Durham, N.C. for a Friday ESPN game at nationally ranked Duke. The USC Upstate game is the third of four games in nine days for the Dukes who won at Saint Francis, Pa. (83-72) on Nov. 20.

DUQUESNE LATELY: Duquesne is one of the youngest teams in the nation with eight scholarship freshmen and 12 underclassmen ... the Dukes have shot over 50 percent (54.2% overall) and handed out at least 20 assists in all three games this season ... the Dukes are shooting just .542 from the foul line (39-of-72), while opponents have missed just five of 49 attempts (.898) ... senior guard Aaron Jackson, who entered the season as the only player on the DU roster with a 20-point game, has scored 20 in each of DU's past two games ... he added a career-best seven steals at Saint Francis, Pa. and posted his third career double-double (10 rebounds) vs. Furman ... Jackson, a Bob Cousy Award nominee has 20 assists and six turnovers in three g. ... Jackson's 36 career double-digit scoring games are six more than the rest of the roster combined (Bill Clark 15, Saunders nine, Jason Duty, Jimmy Sherwood & Eric Evans two each) ... DU is 24-10 when scoring 80 or more points in 62 games under Ron Everhart ... the Dukes are averaging 12.0 steals and forcing 21.0 turnovers/g. ... the Dukes have assisted on 63 of 96 field goals (65.6%).

DUKES & SPARTANS: This is the second meeting between Duquesne and South Carolina Upstate ... the Dukes defeated the Spartans 84-66 last Dec. 30 in Pittsburgh ... USC Upstate is in its second season as member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference ... Upstate won the Peach Belt Conference (D-II) championship in 2005 and the conference tournament title in 2006 ... the Spartans made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2005 & 2006... Upstate was known as USC Spartanburg prior to a name change in 2004:

A victory over USC Upstate would:
• Mark the first time since 1985-86 (5-0) and 1986-87 (4-0) that Duquesne opened 4-0 in back-to-back seasons ... last year the Dukes got off their best start in 28 years at 6-0.
• Give the Dukes two straight road wins for the third time under Ron Everhart ... prior to Everhart's arrival DU hadn't won consecutive road games since December of 1994.

UNFAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: These will be strange surroundings for both Duquense and USC Upstate in that this is USC Upstate's lone home game prior to Jan. 3. The Spartans opened with games at Georgia (72-48 L), at Notre Dame (94-58 L) and at South Carolina (75-53 L) and will play away from home seven more times before hosting North Florida on Jan. 3. Upstate is 58-22 (.725) at home in seven seasons under current head coach Eddie Payne.

FOUR IN A ROW ON THE ROAD: This is the longest road trip of the year for the Dukes who left for Spartanburg, S.C. on Monday morning. Following the game at South Carolina Upstate, DU will board a bus to Durham, N.C. Wednesday morning for Friday's ESPN televised game at Duke. Duquesne will return to Pittsburgh Friday evening and will begin preparation for the Dec. 3 game at Pittsburgh. DU concludes the stretch of four consecutive road games at Radford on Dec. 10.

ATLANTIC 10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Nov. 23, 2008 Eric Evans (Co-)
• Came off the bench to score 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting in an 83-72 win at Saint Francis, Pa.

This is the third time in three seasons under Ron Everhart that Duquesne has produced at least one Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. The last time the DU program had at least one Rookie of the Week in three consecutive seasons was the four-year span from 1983-84 through 1986-87. Robert Mitchell (five times, since transferred to Seton Hall) and Scott Grote (once, since transferred to Wright State) both earned the award in 2006-07 and Damian Saunders (three times) and Bill Clark (once) were recognized last season.

BOB COUSY AWARD NOMINEE: Aaron Jackson is one of 34 Division I players - and the only Atlantic 10 player - on the presason nomination list for the 2009 Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford. The Cousy award is presented annually to the nation's top men's collegiate point guard.

CAROLINA DREAMIN': Duquesne's non-conference schedule has a distinct Carolina flair, as the Dukes will play a total of five schools from either North or South Carolina: High Point (High Point, N.C.), Furman (Greenville, S.C.), at South Carolina Upstate (Spartanburg, S.C.), at Duke (Durham, N.C.) and North Carolina Central (Durham, N.C.). The Dukes will also play Charlotte as part of the Atlantic 10 schedule. High Point and North Carolina Central are the only first-time opponents for the Dukes.

CONN MEN: Three Connecticut natives are playing key roles for the Dukes in 2008-09. Three-year starter Aaron Jackson, a Hartford native (Northwest Catholic), is DU's top returning scorer (9.0 ppg.) and assist man (104). Jackson leads the Dukes in scoring (18.0 ppg.), rebounding (6.7 rpg.), assists (6.7 apg.) and steals (4.0 spg.). Sophomore forward Damian Saunders, who attended Waterbury Crosby High School, was a member of the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team. Saunders, Duquesne's top returning rebounder (5.2 rpg.), shot blocker (39) and steals man (45), underwent successful surgery in early May to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle. He was cleared to participate in individual workouts on October 2. Saunders opened the season with a career-high 21 points and a career-best six steals vs. High Point. DU's third player from the Nutmeg State is true freshman G/F B.J. Monteiro, who was named 2008 Connecticut State Player of the Year by the Hartford Courant. Monteiro, was a freshman and Saunders a junior on a Crosby team that won a 2004-05 state title. Monteiro, who has started all three games on the young season, added a second state crown last year. The Connecticut crew accounted for exactly half of Duquesne's 84 points (21 by Saunders, 14 by Jackson and 7 by Monteiro) in the opening day win over High Point.