Nov. 23, 2009

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, NC - Damian Saunders scored a career-high 24 points and Bill Clark tied his career high with five 3-pointers as Duquesne opened play in the Cullowhee, N.C. sub-regional of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic with a 70-52 win over Binghamton.

The win was the third in a row for the Dukes (3-0) who will take on Arkansas-Monticello Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Binghamton, which dropped to 1-3, takes on host Western Carolina tomorrow.

Saunders added a game-high 11 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double of the season. Clark scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half. B.J. Monteiro added 10 points and Jason Duty had nine points - all on 3-pointers - for the Dukes.

Moussa Camara led Binghamton with 16 points.

Duquesne shot 51.8 percent and forced 19 turnovers in holding Binghamton to 35.8 percent shooting. It is the third time in as many games that the Dukes have held their opponent under 40.0 percent. Duquesne finished with 14 assists and 13 turnovers.

"We shot the ball real well tonight," said head coach Ron Everhart of the Dukes who hit 10-of-25 3-point attempts. "We turned it over a few too many times for my liking."

Duquesne jumped out to a 14-2 lead before scoring just four points over the next six minutes as Binghamton cut the lead to five at 18-13 with 9:55 left in the half.

The Dukes took a 12-point lead on a Clark 3-pointer at the 8:34 mark and built the lead to 16 at the half.

Duquesne took its largest lead at 52-29 on a Monteiro layup with 13:44 left and maintained a comfortable margin the remainder of the game.

Saunders went 11-of-16 from the field with four dunks in exceeding his previous career high of 22 points.

"Damian has a way of controlling the game with his motor," said Everhart. "He has great intensity. It seems like when we take a bad shot he'll find a way to tip it or get a hand on the ball. He's a high-energy guy."

Duquesne continues play in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic subregional tomorrow against Arkansas-Monticello at 5:00 p.m.

NOTES
• The win ended a streak of 12 consecutive losses for the Dukes in the state of North Carolina (including neutral-site games) ... it was DU's first win in the Tar Heel State since a 53-33 win at North Carolina State on Jan. 14, 1937 ... Duquesne is now 2-13 in the state of North Carolina.

• DU has yet to allow an opponent to shoot better than .400 from the field through three games (Nicholls State .393, at Iowa .316 and vs. Binghamton .358).

• Damian Saunders finished with a career-high 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes ... the double-double was the tenth of Saunders' career and third in as many games this season (he had 17 points and 19 rebounds in the opener vs. Nicholls State and 16-16 at Iowa) ... Saunders' previous scoring high was 22 points set last year at Duke and matched at La Salle.

• Clark, who finished 5-of-9 from the arc, tied his career high of five 3-pointers set last year vs. Saint Louis.

• B.J. Monteiro's 10 points were two shy of his career high set last year at Dayton ... it was the second double-digit scoring game of his career.

• Duquesne is now 6-2 all time against schools from the America East Conference.