Jan. 22, 2010

Complete Game Notes

ST. BONAVENTURE (9-8, 2-2) at DUQUESNE (9-9, 0-4)
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 ­• A.J. Palumbo Center (5,358) • Pittsburgh, Pa. • 7:00 p.m.

DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
STREAMING AUDIO: redzonemedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
STREAMING VIDEO AND GAMETRACKER: GoDuquesne.com

DUKES WELCOME ST. BONAVENTURE: Duquesne (9-9, 0-4), coming off a 75-67 loss at Rhode Island on Wednesday, returns home to face St. Bonaventure (9-8, 2-2) on Sat., Jan. 23 at 7:00 p.m. The Dukes will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak against a St. Bonaventure team that posted its first road win of the season on Wednesday at UMass (70-69). This is the 102nd meeting between the schools, with Duquesne leading the series 54-47. The Bonnies are one of three A-10 schools the Dukes will face twice this season (the others are Dayton and Saint Louis). Duquesne has defeated St. Bonaventure more than any school in the A-10 regular season (26-22). Duquesne has been led by 6-7 junior Damian Saunders who leads the nation with 15 double-doubles (including each of the past nine games). Saunders began the week ranked second nationally in rebounding, fourth in steals and ninth in blocks. Saunders' 12.9 rebound average is the best by a Duquesne player since Lionel Billingy averaged 13.1 rpg. in 1973-74. DU will be facing the top big man in the Atlantic 10 in SBU's 6-9 sophomore Andrew Nicholson. Nicholson, who scored a career-high 29 in the Bonnies' 74-68 loss at DU last season, is averaging 15.9 points and 7.9 rebounds on .615 shooting. The 2009 A-10 Rookie of the Year has led SBU in scoring nine times and in rebounding nine times. He is coming off a 26-point outing in the win at UMass.

DUQUESNE LATELY: Duquesne is limiting opponents to 66.4 ppg. ... it is the lowest opponent scoring average since 1981-82 (66.0 ppg.) ... opponents are also shooting .390 from the field, which translates to DU's best field goal percentage defense since 1970-71 (.389) ... last year, Duquesne ranked 309th of 330 teams in scoring defense (74.7 ppg.) and 294th in field goal percentage defense (.462) ... only five teams have shot over 40 percent against the Dukes this season ... Damian Saunders, who has the rare distinction of averaging 42.8 min./g. in conference play (he's played 171 of a possible 175 minutes in DU's four A-10 games), leads the nation in double-doubles with 15 ... his current streak of nine double-doubles in a row is the longest since Bruce Atkins did it 10 times in 1980-81 ... Saunders enters the SBU game needing four steals to pass Aaron Jackson (169) and move into 6th on DU's all-time list ... he needs three blocks to pass Kieron Achara (185) and become DU's No. 2 all-time shot blocker ... Duquesne has played a school record five overtime games (2-3) ... the NCAA record is eight, done by three schools.

THE SERIES: This is the 102nd meeting between the Dukes and Bonnies in a series that dates back to Feb. 13, 1920 ... it is also the 59th consecutive season DU and SBU have met at least once on the hardwood ... Duquesne leads the overall series 54-47 ... in games played at Pittsburgh, Duquesne leads 35-14 ... the Dukes have won eight of the past 11 meetings, however, St. Bonaventure has won two of the past four at the Palumbo Center ... DU head coach Ron Everhart is 4-2 against the Bonnies (2-1 at home) ... last year, DU swept the regular season series (98-80 at St. Bonaventure and 74-68 at home) ... St. Bonaventure is one of three A-10 teams the Dukes will play twice this year along with Dayton and Saint Louis ... Duquesne owns more conference wins over St. Bonaventure (26) than any other A-10 school.

NICHOLSON'S BIG NUMBERS: St. Bonaventure sophomore Andrew Nicholson, the 2009 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, averaged 23.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in two games against the Dukes last season. The 6-9 Canadian went 20-of-26 (.769) from the field in the two games. Nicholson had 29 points (20 in the first half), 12 rebounds and six blocks in 36 minutes of the Bonnies 74-68 loss to the Dukes last year at the Palumbo Center. Nicholson leads SBU in scoring (15.9) and rebounding (7.9) and leads the A-10 with a 61.5 percent (112-182) field goal percentage. Nicholson scored a game-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting against St. John's on Nov. 17 and equaled his career-high with 29 points and a career-best 14 boards against Norfolk State. He has a team-high four 20-point games this season, three double-doubles and five double-digit rebound games. Nicholson has led the team in scoring nine times and rebounding nine times this season, including both in the same game on five occasions. He is coming off a 26-point (10-of-18), five-block performance in the Bonnies' 70-69 win at UMass on Wednesday.

ST. BONAVENTURE THIS YEAR: SBU posted its first road win of the season (1-6) on Wednesday at UMass (70-69) ... the Bonnies, who lead the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage at 48.2 percent, shot exactly their average - 48.2 percent - including 57.1 percent in the second half, in the win ... St. Bonaventure assisted on 17 of 27 field goals and held the Minutemen to 4-of-24 shooting from the 3-point arc ... 6-9 sophomore forward Andrew Nicholson led the way with 26 points and five blocks in 37 minutes ... sophomore guard Michael Davenport added 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds ... the Bonnies led by 10 with just under 10 minutes left ... second-leading scorer, 6-5 senior guard Jonathan Hall (12.1 ppg., 55.6% FG, 53 assists, 22 steals) has missed SBU's past two games with a bruised right foot ... senior guard Chris Matthews (11.4 ppg.) leads the A-10 with 3.1 3-pointers per game ... Matthews has hoisted a league-high 142 3-pointers (52-of-142, .366) ... the Bonnies are second-to-last in the A-10 in field goal percentage defense at 44.3 percent.

SHORTHANDED: Duquesne has had its full complement of players for just two games this season. B.J. Monteiro missed the opener as the second game of a team-imposed suspension (he also missed DU's exhibition game). Melquan Bolding fractured his wrist in the opener and missed 13 games. During Bolding's absence, Jason Duty missed the game at West Virginia with an ankle injury. Bolding, with one practice under his belt, returned on Jan. 6 vs. Richmond. It was DU's first game with all 15 players available. DU then lost in overtime at league favorite Dayton with its whole team. Bolding was then limited to just five first-alf minutes in the 2OT loss to Saint Louis due to strep throat. With Bolding once again back, DU learned prior to the Rhode Island game that Bill Clark would not be available due to a secondary NCAA rules infraction.

Nov. 13 -- Nicholls State (1 g.) -- B.J. Monteiro -- one-game suspension
Nov. 17-Dec. 30 -- at Iowa thru at Old Dominion (13 g.) -- Melquan Bolding -- wrist fracture
Dec. 9 -- at West Virginia (1g.) -- Jason Duty -- ankle
Team was intact for Jan. 6 vs. Richmond & Jan. 9 at Dayton (not counting the Saint Louis game for which Bolding was in uniform and played five minutes, but did not practice the previous day due to strep throat)
Jan. 20 -- at Rhode Island (1 g.) -- Bill Clark -- NCAA violation

PLAYER NOTES

#25 Damian Saunders
Junior Damian Saunders currently ranks among Duquesne's Top 10 in three career statistical categories: 3rd in blocks (183), 7th in steals (166) and tied for sixth in career FG% (.524) ... he is also closing in on the 1,000 career point mark (needs 86) ... he needs four steals to pass Aaron Jackson to move into the No. 6 spot ... he is three blocks shy of passing Kieron Achara to be come DU's No. 2 all-time shot blocker ... Saunders, the first DU player in 39 years to open a season with six consecutive double-doubles, has posted 15 double-doubles in 18 games, including the past nine in a row ... the 15 double-doubles are the most by a DU player since Bruce Atkins had 16 in 1981-82 ... the 6-7 Connecticut native has set new career highs for points (24 vs. Binghamton), rebounds (19 vs. Nicholls State) and blocks (9 at Old Dominion) and tied his career-best for steals (6 at Iowa & vs. Richmond) this season ... his current 12.9 rebounds per game average is the best since Lionel Billingy averaged 13.1 rpg. in 1973-74 ... he has pulled down 15 or more boards in a game eight times ... his career high entering this season was 14 ... came within a disputed first half goaltend of posting the second triple-double in Duquesne history at Old Dominion (11-10-9) ... the nine blocks tied ODU's Constant Center arena record set by former Duke Shawn James ... James set the mark in 2006 while at Northeastern prior to his transfer to Duquesne ... Saunders leads the Dukes with 31 dunks, bringing his career total to 91 ... Saunders, who was named one of the nation's top 10 "Stat Sheet Stuffers" by Rivals.com in October, also flirted with a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks vs. Canisius ... he has posted six steals in a game twice this season (at Iowa and vs. Richmond) ... Saunders has struggled from the 3-point arc where he is shooting .180 (9-of-50) ... he has never shot under 34 percent from arc (.348 as a freshman and .343 as a sophomore).

#30 Bill Clark
Junior Bill Clark (14.1 ppg.) leads the team with 50 career double-digit scoring games, including 13 this season ... needs 75 points to become the 33rd 1,000-point scorer in school history ... ranks 7th on DU's all time list for 3-pointers made (132) and fifth in all-time attempts (398) ... opened the season with seven consecutive double-digit scoring games, including 20 or more three times: career-high 25 at Western Carolina, 23 vs. Pitt and 20 at Iowa ... was averaging 19.0 ppg. and shooting .464 (20-of-60 from 3-point) over those first seven games ... since then (a span of 10 g.) he is averaging 10.7 ppg. on .286 shooting (6-of-44 from 3-point) ... posted his fourth career double-double (first this season) with 17 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals in 50 minutes in the double overtime win over Canisius ... added his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the double overtime loss to Saint Louis ... his 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds left in overtime forced the second OT session ... hit a career-high six from the arc (on 14 attempts) vs. Pitt (23 points) ... since the Pitt game he is 6-of-44 from the arc and has failed to make a 3-pointer in five of his past 10 games ... Clark, who entered the season a .361 career 3-point shooter, is shooting .250 from the arc ... he is shooting .516 (47-of-91) on his two-point attempts ... despite his struggles, Clark leads the Dukes with 26 3-pointers ... his 3-pointer from the left wing with 11.7 seconds left proved to be the game-winner in DU's 52-50 win at Iowa on Nov. 17 ... the win was Duquesne's first ever in a Big 10 arena ... Clark's shot was ranked No. 4 on ESPN's Top 10 Plays that evening ... the 6-5 Californian has grabbed at least nine rebounds five times ... he leads the team in charges taken (10) and free throw peercentage (.764), attempts (89) and makes (68) ... he has made more free throws than any DU player - other than Damian Saunders (84 att.) - has attempted ... the 6-5 Clark is Duquesne's second-leading rebounder at 6.5 rpg. ... saw a streak of 81 consecutive games played (every game of his career) and 51 starts snapped when he missed the game at Rhode Island due to a secondary NCAA rules infraction.

#23 Melquan Bolding
Missed 13 games and seven weeks of practice while recovering from a fractured wrist suffered in the opener vs. Nicholls State ... returned on Jan. 6 vs. Richmond ... DU went 8-5 in the 13 games without Bolding ... scored 25 points - one shy of his career high - despite finishing out the Nicholls State with the wrist fracture ... underwent surgery to have a pin placed in the wrist on Nov. 17 ... was cleared to rejoin practice the day before the Richmond game ... had 13 points, eight rebounds and a career high-tying four assists in his second game back, at Dayton before coming down with strep throat the day before the Jan. 13 Saint Louis game ... played just five first-half minutes vs. the Billikens ... made his second start of the season at Rhode Island (six points, five rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes).

#32 B.J. Monteiro
Sophomore B.J. Monteiro (11.5 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) emerged as a pleasant surprise as a starter in place of Bolding ... has led the Dukes in scoring four times ... scored 14 of his team-high 17 in the second half of DU's win over Robert Morris and followed that with a career-high 27 in the double-overtime victory over Canisius ... blocked Eric May's field goal attempt at the buzzer to preserve DU's 52-50 win in his first start, at Iowa on Nov. 17 ... also blocked a Chase Adams field goal attempt with two seconds left to force the Pitt game into a second overtime ... a former high school teammate of Damian Saunders, Monteiro has set a new career scoring high three times this season (18 vs. Arkansas-Monticello, 21 vs. Radford & 27 vs. Canisius) ... his career best, and only double-digit scoring game, entering the season was 12 last year at Dayton ... he has scored in double digits nine times ... pulled down a career high nine rebounds vs. Richmond and matched that total with nine more vs. Saint Louis ... DU's top 3-point shooter at .375 (15-of-40).

#3 Eric Evans
Sophomore point guard Eric Evans has scored in double-digits nine times including a career high 20 (4-of-8 from 3-point) at IUPUI on Dec. 19 ... entered IUPUI game 3-of-33 from the 3-point arc ... followed that by hitting 7-of-8 from the field (including 3-of-4 from 3-point) in scoring 17 in 25 minutes vs. Saint Francis, Pa. and added 10 more at Old Dominion ... leads the Dukes with 68 assists, including six games with five or more ... handed out a career-high nine assists in the opening night win over Nicholls State ... added career highs for rebounds (6) and steals (6) at Old Dominion ... has struggled from the field where he is shooting .348 ... in his past five games he is 4-of-20 (.200) from the 3-point arc ... Evans (68-54) is one of just two Dukes with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio ... second on the team in steals (24) and third in free throws made (41) ... has converted a team high six (of 11) tradtional three-point plays ... had a four-point play in the second overtime vs. Saint Louis ... has 14 assists and nine turnovers in Atlantic 10 play ... DU is 5-1 when Evans has five or more assists.

#13 Jason Duty
Senior guard Jason Duty (23-13) joins Evans as the other player with a positive assist/turnover ratio ... badly jammed his right (shooting) shoulder during the Nov. 25 game at Western Carolina and shot .242 (8-of-33) overall and 5-of-26 from the 3-point arc in the ensuing six games before going 3-of-4 (3-of-3 from 3-point) in scoring all nine of his points in the first half vs. Saint Francis, Pa. ... missed the Dec. 9 WVU game with a sprained ankle suffered late in practice on Dec. 7 ... entered the season as a .364 career 3-point shooter ... is 21-of-67 (.313) from the arc this season ... hit 3-of-4 3-pointers in scoring a season-high 12 points at Dayton ... also scored in double figures on Nov. 25 at Western Carolina (11 points) ... did not try a 3-pointer on Jan. 13 vs. Saint Louis, ending a streak of 52 games with at least one 3-point attempt ... shooting .545 from the field in A-10 play, including 6-of-11 (.571) from the 3-point arc.

#20 Sean Johnson
True freshman Sean Johnson has come off the bench in all 18 games ... has scored in double digits five times including four of the past five games ... scored a career-high 17 in 20 minutes at Old Dominion (7-of-12) ... 14 of his team-high 17 at ODU came in the second half ... had 14 in 22 minutes at Dayton and 12 in 18 vs. Richmond ... his 9.5 ppg. scoring average in A-10 play is the fourth-best on the team.

#5 Morakinyo Williams
Seven-foot Kentucky transfer Morakinyo Williams, who played a total of 28 minutes in six non-conference appearances, is averaging 18.8 minutes per game in conference play ... tied his season high with 13 minutes versus Richmond and surpassed that with 23 at Dayton and 28 vs. Saint Louis ... set career highs for rebounds (6) and assists (2) vs. the Flyers ... added five rebounds vs. SLU ... has just one turnover in 75 minutes in conference play (four games).

#33 Rodrigo Peggau
Redshirt freshman Rodrigo Peggau , who underwent successful right knee surgery last December, was cleared to participate in individual workouts in early September ... the Brazilian played in four games last year prior to opting for season-ending surgery ... his last full season of basketball was in 2006-07 at The Calverton School (Md.) ... missed the 2007-08 season at The Patterson School (N.C.) due to a torn meniscus in his right knee ... has seen action in 15 games with one start ... had nine points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes vs. Pitt and added eight points and seven boards in 15 minutes vs. Robert Morris ... he is 10-of-19 (.526) on two-point attempts and 0-of-6 from the 3-point arc .... he has played 20 or more minutes in a game three times ... has played a total of eight minutes in DU's four A-10 games.

Others
Sophomore #2 Chase Robinson played in one of DU's first seven games, before seeing action in seven of the past 11 ... scored a season-high four points and added a career-best four rebounds in nine minutes vs. Saint Francis, Pa. ... played a career-high 13 minutes at IUPUI ... has seen one minute of action (vs. Saint Louis) in conference play ... six-nine , 255-pound sophomore #54 Oliver Lewinson has played in nine games ... had two points, five rebounds and two steals in a career-high 22 minutes at No. 6 (AP) West Virginia ... he added three boards in five minutes vs. Canisius ... saw his first conference action at Rhode Island where he had three rebounds in 12 minutes ... freshman #3 Andre Marhold has come off the bench in 12 games ... grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots in a season-high 16 minutes at WVU ... has played double-digit minutes four times.

RHODY LEFTOVERS: There were 11 ties and seven lead changes in the game, including nine and six of each in the second half ... DU, which has held second half leads in 15 of 18 games this season, led by one with 1:30 left before URI scored the game's final nine point ... Duquesne learned just before tipoff that it would be without second leading scorer and rebounder Bill Clark (secondary NCAA rules violation) ... Melquan Bolding, who missed 13 games with a fractured wrist, made his first start since the season opener ... he had six points, five rebounds, five turnovers (all in the first half) and two steals in 29 min. ... Damian Saunders posted his ninth consecutive double-double (and 15th this season) with 21 points and 11 boards ... Saunders, playing in front of family and friends, was 8-of-13 from the field in 40 minutes ... DU committed 15 of its 19 turnovers in the first half ... the Dukes finished with a season-low five assists on 27 FGs ... DU went 10-of-19 from the foul line, including 7-of-14 in the second half ... URI led by 10 with 2:54 left in the first half ... neither team led by more than four from the 16:20 mark of the second half until the game's final minute.