Jan. 25, 2010
Complete Game Notes
DUQUESNE (10-9, 1-4) at XAVIER (13-6, 5-1)
Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 • Cintas Center (10,250) • Cincinnati, Ohio • 7:05 p.m.
TELEVISION: CBS College Sports National with Tom McCarthy & Pete Gillen
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
STREAMING AUDIO: redzonemedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
STREAMING VIDEO AND GAMETRACKER: GoXavier.com
DUKES AT XAVIER FOR NATIONAL TV GAME: Duquesne (10-9, 1-4), which snapped a five-game losing streak with a 70-69 win over St. Bonaventure on Saturday heads to Cincinnati to face Xavier (13-6, 5-1) on Thurs., Jan. 28 at 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports. Melquan Bolding's 3-pointer from the corner with 3.4 seconds left was the difference in the SBU game. Xavier, which is in the second game of a three-game homestand, outscored Rhode Island 46-32 in the second half of a 72-61 win on Saturday at Cintas Center. The win extended XU's home win streak to 19 games (sixth-best in the nation) and an Atlantic 10 home streak to 27 (second-best in A-10 history). Duquesne is 1-6 on the road with the lone win coming at Iowa on Nov. 17. DU has been led by 6-7 junior Damian Saunders who leads the nation with 15 double-doubles. Saunders began the week ranked third nationally in rebounding (12.7), 12th in steals (2.7) and 9th in blocks (3.3). Saunders' rebound average is the best by a Duquesne player since Lionel Billingy averaged 13.1 rpg. in 1973-74. Xavier has been led by first-year Indiana transfer sophomore Jordan Crawford who leads the A-10 in scoring at 19.1 ppg. Crawford, who leads the league in field goal attempts per game (15.7), has led the Musketeers in scoring 13 times. XU has shot over 50 percent eight times, while Duquesne has held 13 of 19 opponents under 40 percent.
DUQUESNE LATELY: Duquesne is limiting opponents to 66.6 ppg. ... it is the lowest opponent scoring average since 1981-82 (66.0 ppg.) ... opponents are also shooting .394 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) ... DU has held 13 of 19 opponents under 40 percent this season ... Damian Saunders began the week tied for the national lead in double-doubles (15) and ranked 3rd in rebounds/g. (12.7), 9th in blocks/g. (3.3) and 12th in steals/g. (2.7) ... he had a streak of nine consecutive double-doubles with 15 pts. and 9 rebs. vs. SBU ... Saunders enters the XU game needing three steals to pass Aaron Jackson (169) and move into 6th on DU's all-time steals list ... he needs two 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: Xavier leads the series 25-17, including a 14-6 advantage in games played at Cincinnati ... the two have split the past eight meetings, with Duquesne taking a 72-68 decision over No. 9 (AP) Xavier last year at the Palumbo Center ... DU snapped a six-game series losing streak with a two-game sweep in 2003-04 (including a 74-68 Cintas Center win) before XU went on to win the next three ... the Dukes defeated the Musketeers 93-91 at Pittsburgh in Ron Everhart's first season to make it 3-3 in six meetings, before No. 10 (AP) XU posted an impressive 75-48 win at Cintas Center two years ago ... last year, Aaron Jackson scored 21 points and Bill Clark added 18 as Duquesne rode an 81.0% shooting first half to the upset win ... the win, which snapped an 11-game Xavier win streak, was DU's first over a ranked team since 1997 and first over a Top 10 team since December of 1992 ... Duquesne shot 53.3 percent from the field against a Xavier team that entered the game ranked ninth nationally in field goal percentage defense ... DU head coach Ron Everhart is 2-1 vs. the Musketeers.
STREAKING AT CINTAS: Xavier has won its past 27 Atlantic 10 games at the Cintas Center ... the streak is the second-longest in conference history ... XU's last home A-10 loss came to Saint Joseph's, 69-58 on Feb. 28, 2006 ... Temple holds the A-10 record with 34 consecutive home wins in conference play (streak ended in 1991) ... Xavier has won its past 19 overall games at home ... that streak began the week as the sixth-longest in the nation ... XU is 130-17 (.884) overall and 65-10 (.867) against the A-10 in 10 seasons at Cintas Center ... Duquesne owns one of the 10 A-10 wins (74-68 on Feb. 28, 2004) ... this will be DU's third game in the arena of a school that ranks among the nation's top 10 in consecutive home wins (DU lost 78-72 in OT at Dayton which ranks 4th at 30 in a row and also lost 63-54 at Old Dominion which currently ranks 7th at 18 straight).
XAVIER THIS YEAR: Sophomore Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford leads the Atlantic 10 with a 19.1 ppg. scoring average ... Xavier hasn't had a leading scorer average 17 ppg. or more since National Player of the Year David West scored 20.1 ppg. as a senior in 2002-03 ... XU, like Duquesne, has just one senior on the roster (6-9, 265-pound forward Jason Love) ... this is the second of three consecutive home games for the Musketeers who began the homestand with a 72-61 win over Rhode Island on Saturday ... Crawford, who has led XU in scoring 13 times, did it again with 21 versus the Rams ... Xavier began the week second in the A-10 in scoring (77.9 ppg.) and first in 3-point shooting percentage (.398) ... Xavier has shot over 50 percent eight times ... only one team (IUPUI at 27-of-54) has reached 50 percent against the Dukes this season ... Chris Mack is in his first season as coach of the Musketeers.
MIRROR IMAGE: Xavier's top eight players include one freshman (Mark Lyons), four sophomores (first-year Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford, Kenny Frease, Terrell Holloway and Brad Redford), two juniors (Jamel McLean & Danté Jackson) and one senior (Jason Love) ... Duquesne's top eight (based on average minutes) has the identical class make-up of Xavier's top eight, including a sophomore transfer from a BCS conference ... the Duquesne breakdown: one freshman (Sean Johnson), four sophomores (first-year Kentucky transfer Morakinyo Williams, Melquan Bolding, Eric Evans and B.J. Monteiro), two juniors (Bill Clark & Damian Saunders) and one senior (Jason Duty).
PLAYER NOTES
#25 Damian Saunders
Junior Damian Saunders currently ranks among Duquesne's Top 10 in three career statistical categories: 3rd in blocks (184), 7th in steals (167) and eighth in career FG% (.522) ... he is also closing in on the 1,000 career point mark (needs 71) ... he needs three steals to pass Aaron Jackson to move into the No. 6 spot ... he is two 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 19 games, including a streak of nine in a row that ended on Jan. 23 vs. St. Bonaventure (15-9) ... 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 12.7 rebounds per game average is the best since Lionel Billingy averaged 13.1 rpg. in 1973-74 and his 2.7 steals per game average is the best in school history ... 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 .214 (12-of-56) ... he has never shot under 34 percent from arc (.348 as a freshman and .343 as a sophomore) ... is 4-of-10 from the arc in his past two games (3-of-6 vs. St. Bonaventure).
#30 Bill Clark
Junior Bill Clark (13.9 ppg.) leads the team with 51 career double-digit scoring games, including 14 this season ... needs 65 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 (400) ... 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 11 g.) he is averaging 10.6 ppg. on .292 shooting (6-of-46 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-46 from the arc and has failed to make a 3-pointer in six of his past 11 games ... Clark, who entered the season a .361 career 3-point shooter, is shooting .245 from the arc ... he is shooting .516 (50-of-97) 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 (11) and free throw peercentage (.774), attempts (93) and makes (72) ... he has made more free throws than all but two other players on the roster (Damian Saunders & Eric Evan) have attempted ... the 6-5 Clark is Duquesne's second-leading rebounder at 6.4 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) ... his 3-pointer from the corner with 3.4 seconds left helped the Dukes snap a five-game losing streak with a 70-69 win over St. Bonaventure ... had 14 points (3-of-6 from 3-point) and a career high-tying four assists vs. the Bonnies.
#32 B.J. Monteiro
Sophomore B.J. Monteiro (11.3 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 10 times ... pulled down a career high nine rebounds vs. Richmond and matched that total vs. Saint Louis ... DU's top 3-point shooter at .366 (15-of-41).
#3 Eric Evans
Sophomore point guard Eric Evans has scored in double-digits 10 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 69 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 ... is one of just two Dukes with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (69-55) ... second on the team in steals (25) and second in free throws made (47) ... has converted a team high six (of 12) traditional three-point plays ... had a four-point play in the second overtime vs. Saint Louis ... DU is 5-1 when Evans has five or more assists ... has struggled from the field where he is shooting .356 ... is 11-of-22 (.500) from the field in his past two games (15.5 ppg. over that span).
#13 Jason Duty
Senior guard Jason Duty (24-13) 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 22-of-69 (.319) 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 .500 from the field in A-10 play, including 5-of-9 (.556) from the 3-point arc.
#20 Sean Johnson
True freshman Sean Johnson has come off the bench in all 19 games ... has scored in double digits five times including four of the past six 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 ... averaging 8.0 ppg. in A-10 play.
#5 Morakinyo Williams
Seven-foot Kentucky transfer Morakinyo Williams, who played a total of 28 minutes in six non-conference appearances, is averaging 17.8 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 89 minutes of conference play (five 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 16 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 13 minutes in DU's five 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 12 ... 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 10 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 ... has yet to see action in conference play.
ST. BONAVENTURE LEFTOVERS: DU's eight 3-pointers were its most since the team's last win (8-of-20 vs. Saint Francis, Pa. on Dec. 22) ... the Dukes were 6-of-10 from the arc in the first half and 2-of-10 in the second ... Melquan Bolding's 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left was DU's first field goal since the 12:45 mark ... the Dukes were just 5-of-22 from the field in the second half ... DU led 43-28 at the half and trailed by four with 1:01 left ... it was the first time this season that the Dukes started a lineup of B.J. Monteiro, Bill Clark, Damian Saunders, Melquan Bolding and Eric Evans ... all but Evans (8 points) scored in double digits.
