Feb. 9, 2008
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA -- Kieron Achara scored 21 points and tied his career high with five blocks and Reggie and Aaron Jackson added 19 and 18 respectively as Duquesne got big 3-pointers from both Jackson's mid-way through the second half to pull away for a 101-84 win at La Salle.
With the win, Duquesne improved to 15-7 and 5-4 in the Atlantic 10 and moved to within one victory of clinching its first winning season since 1993-94. La Salle dropped to 9-13 and 4-5 in conference play.
The 17-point margin of victory tied DU's second-largest ever in an Atlantic 10 road game.
Duquesne, which never trailed, saw La Salle cut a 16-point lead to two on a Darnell Harris 3-pointer with 10:30 to go. The Dukes answered with three consecutive 3-pointers - two by Reggie Jackson sandwiched around one from Aaron Jackson - to push the lead to 74-63 at the 8:16 mark.
La Salle briefly cut it to nine on a Rodney Green 3-pointer with 4:08 left before Duquesne responded with a pair of Reggie Jackson free throws followed by a pair of Damian Saunders dunks to up the lead to 15. The Explorers would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way.
"I was very pleased with our effort," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "Kieron [Achara] controlled the inside. We shared the ball and shot it as well as we have all season. When you get the passes going inside-out, its easier to hit the three."
Duquesne, which topped the 100-point mark for the second consecutive game, also had its second-straight hot shooting performance. The Dukes, who shot .604 in a 102-88 win over Saint Joseph's on Wednesday, were 35-of-63 (.556) including 7-of-19 from the 3-point arc.
Achara went 7-of-9 from the field in posting his second 20-point game of the season and first since he scored a career-high 29 in the opener against Howard. Both of the Jackson's tied their career highs for assists with nine for Reggie and eight for Aaron. Aaron Jackson also had six rebounds and four steals. The Dukes, playing without team assist leader and second-leading scorer Kojo Mensah who was in street clothes with strep throat, assisted on 28 of 35 field goals.
Gary Tucker went 7-of-10 from the field in adding 16 points for the Dukes. Shawn James added 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for DU. Saunders finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
The win marks the first time Duquesne has won two in a row at La Salle since 1977 and 1979. Its also the first time DU has won back-to-back games in the city of Philadelphia since 1995 (includes games at La Salle, Temple and Saint Joseph's as well as the A-10 Tournament). Duquesne defeated La Salle 111-105 at Tom Gola Arena last season.
Duquesne, in the midst of a stretch of five of seven games on the road, heads to Dayton on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Flyers.
NOTES
• With 11 blocks, Duquesne set a new single-season record for blocks in a season with 167. The old mark of 166 was set in 28 games in 1979-80. The Dukes have blocked 26 shots in their past two games (school record-tying 15 vs. Saint Joe's and 11 at La Salle).
• All three of Reggie Jackson's top scoring games this season have come on the road: 19 each at Bowling Green, at Rhode Island and at La Salle.
• DU's 28 assists tied the sixth-highest total in school history.
