Jan. 1, 2011
Complete Game Notes
NORFOLK STATE (1-10) at DUQUESNE (6-5)
Sun., Jan. 2, 2010 • A.J. Palumbo Center (4,406) • Pittsburgh, Pa. • 4:00 (EST)
DUQUESNE RADIO: WPBG-FM (104.7) with Ray Goss & Jarrett Durham
STREAMING AUDIO: RedZoneMedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
STREAMING VIDEO/GAMETRACKER: GoDuquesne.com
DUKES PLAY SECOND GAME IN 48 HOURS: Duquesne (6-5), coming off a 91-64 New Years Eve win over Northwestern State, takes to the court for the second time in 48 hours when it faces Norfolk State (1-10) at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 2. DU, which had a six-game Palumbo Center win streak snapped in an 85-79 double overtime loss to George Mason on Dec. 22, forced 28 turnovers in the win over Northwestern State. The Dukes, who had five double-digit scorers in the win, outscored the Demons 39-8 off turnovers. Duquesne is 41-22 at its on-campus home in five seasons under head coach Ron Everhart. Norfolk State, which saw its losing streak reach nine in a 92-56 loss at Ohio on Dec. 30, is 0-8 on the road.Duquesne is averaging 81.5 ppg. (among the Top 20 nationally), including 92.4 ppg. in five games at the Palumbo Center. Senior Bill Clark, who leads the Dukes with a 17.3 ppg. scoring average, has led DU in scoring in each of the past three games. He is coming off back-to-back 21-point games against George Mason and Northwestern State. It is the first time in his career he has put together back-to-back 20-point games. Junior guard Eric Evans, who missed eight weeks following Oct. 27 foot surgery, made his first appearance of the season vs. Northwestern State. The 5-11 Detriot native had six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes. Evans had four practices under his belt prior to the game.
DUQUESNE LATELY: Senior preseason All-A10 pick Damian Saunders became DU's all-time blocked shot and career steals leader in December ... the 6-7 Connecticut native has 240 career blocks (old record of 229 was set by Derrick Alston from 1991-94) and 222 steals (old record 218 by Kenya Hunter from 1993-96) ... Saunders ranks 22nd on DU's all-time scoring list with 1,238 points ... senior Bill Clark, who has hit five or more 3-pointers in a game four times, leads DU at 17.3 ppg. ... Clark ranks third on DU's all-time list with 182 career 3-pointers ... Clark ranks 20th on DU's all-time leading scorers' list with 1,298 points ... DU, which shot .261 from the 3-point arc last season (282nd nationally), is shooting .398 from long distance and is averaging 9.6 3-pointers per game ... the Dukes, who are averaging 19.4 assists/g., have assisted on 69% of their field goals ... freshman T.J. McConnell (12.2 ppg., 3.9 rpg., 4.7 apg., 3.1 spg.; .593 FG% & .516 3-PT%) ranks among the top five in five Atlantic 10 statistical categories (through Dec. 31): steals (1st), FG% (1st), assist/turnover ratio (3rd), 3-PT% (3rd) and assists (4th) ... freshman F Joel Wright, who had 17 points and 19 rebounds in his first seven games, has scored 30 points and grabbed 14 boards (10.0, 4.7) in his past three games.
NOTING NORFOLK STATE: This is the first meeting between the Dukes and Spartans of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ... NSU returns four starters from an 11-19 team (9-7 in the MEAC) that finished the season with wins in eight of the last 11 games ... this is the sixth of six consecutive road games for Norfolk State which hasn't played a home game since Nov. 30 ... the Spartans have had a couple of close road losses including a 70-65 defeat at A-10 Saint Joseph's on Nov. 20 ... NSU also lost at Virginia, 50-49, on a tip-in with 4.8 seconds left ... 6-10, 240-pound junior center Kyle O'Quinn is averaging close to a double-double (12.9, 9.8)... Norfolk State is expected to receive a boost from Radford transfer 6-5 G/F Chris McEachin (12.0 ppg. in three games) who became eligible after first semester ... six-four senior G Rob Hampton, a second-year transfer from Drexel, leads the Spartans at 15.7 ppg.
"POINT" ME TO PALUMBO: Duquesne is averaging 92.4 points per game at its on-campus home - the A.J. Palumbo Center - where the Dukes are 4-1. DU is averaging 72.3 ppg. away from home (including two games at CONSOL Energy Center).
QUICK HITS
Senior forward/guard Bill Clark, who has a team-high 30 3-pointers, moved into third on DU's all-time list with his first of three 3-pointers vs. Northwestern State on Dec. 31 ... Clark enters the Norfolk State game with 182 "threes" ... Tom Pipkins (311 from 1994-97) holds the school record ... he's followed by Tony Petrarca (287 from 1987-91) ... Clark is already alone in third in career attempts with 529 ... Clark has hit five 3-pointers in a game four times this season ... all four have come away from home (at Robert Morris, at Bowling Green, vs. Pitt at CONSOL Energy Center and at Penn State) ... Clark, who entered the season averaging 2.1 assists per game, is averaging 2.8 apg. ... he had a career-high nine in the season opener vs. Bluefield State ... Clark flirted with a triple-double with 15 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes vs. the Division II Big Blues ... Clark, who has scored 20 or more in a game four times (22 at Robert Morris, 20 vs. Pitt, 21 vs. George Mason & 21 vs. Northwestern State), posted his seventh career double-double, and first this season, at Penn State (19-10) ... he added his second double-double with 17 points and a career high-tying 14 rebounds vs. IUPUI and third vs. Northwestern State (21-10) ... Clark leads the team with nine charges taken ... he is coming off back-to-back 20-point games (21 vs. George Mason & Northwestern State) for the first time in his career ... senior forward Damian Saunders became DU's all-time blocked shot leader when he swatted four at Penn State on Dec. 4 ... the final block - of a Taran Buie layup with 11:26 to go - broke the previous record of 229 set by Derrick Alston in 114 games from 1991-94 ... the Penn State game was Saunders' 101st ... Saunders enters the Norfolk State game with 240 blocks ... he added the career steals record at the 1:30 mark of the first half vs. George Mason on Dec. 22 ... his 222 career steals broke the old mark of of 218 set by current Georgetown assistant coach Kenya Hunter from 1993-96 ... Saunders, whose 20 double-doubles ranked sixth nationally last season, has two this year (20-11 vs. No. 3 (AP) Pitt and 12-11 vs. George Mason) ... he added five assists and three blocks in 34 minutes vs. the Panthers ... he followed that by tying his career high with four 3-pointers in scoring 23 at Penn State ... it was just the second time in his career he has had 20 or more in back-to-back games (he had 21 at Dayton, 23 vs. Saint Louis and 21 at Rhode Island in consecutive games last year) ... Saunders had another of his typical stat-sheet stuffing games with 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists, a career high-tying six steals and three blocks at Green Bay ... Saunders a 34 percent 3-point shooter his first two seasons, slumped to 18.9 percent last season (18-of-95) ... he looks to have regained his former form with a 35.7 percent success rate this season (10-of-28) ... true freshman T.J. McConnell began the week ranked 4th nationally in steals per game (3.1) ... his 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (52-26) ranks third in the conference ... has scored in double digits seven times with highs of 20 (18 in the second half) at Green Bay, 19 vs. George Mason and 18 vs. West Virginia ... was named A-10 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 13) after averaging 19.0 points. 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals in the Green Bay and WVU games ... had 14 points and five steals vs. No. 3 (AP) Pitt ... the six-footer had 11 rebounds to go along with 10 points and nine assists in 27 minutes at Bowling Green in nearly becoming the second player in school history to post a triple-double ... McConnell played just nine minutes in the second half of the lopsided win ... it was his third career game ... has handed out five or more assists in a game seven times ... is shooting .593 from the field and .516 (16-of-31) from the 3-point arc ... fellow freshman Mike Talley, who has started nine times, has hit three or more 3-pointers three times ... scored a season high 17 points in the opener vs. Bluefield State and matched that total at Green Bay (4-of-5 from 3-point) ... has scored in double digits five times ... hit five 3-pointers in the opening day win over Bluefield ... handed out a season-high seven assists vs. IUPUI ... broke out of a two-game 3-of-15 (1-of-8 from 3-point) shooting slump to hit 4-of-6 at Green Bay ... junior guard/forward B.J. Monteiro has scored in double digits eight times with a high of 21 on 9-of-10 shooting at Bowling Green ... the BGSU game followed a 2-of-10, eight-point performance in the loss at Robert Morris ... tied his career high with three steals vs. UMBC and at Penn State ... third on the team with 24 offensive rebounds ... has blocked at least one shot in nine of 11 games, including a career high four vs. West Virginia and George Mason ... has two double-doubles (17-10 vs. Bluefield State & 12-10 vs. WVU) ... sophomore guard Sean Johnson has scored 27 in three starts (9.0 ppg.) and 72 in eight off the bench (9.0 ppg.) ... posted a season-high 17 in a start in the opener vs. Bluefield State and had 16 off the bench at Green Bay (5-of-7 including three 3-pointers) ... has scored in double digits five times ... DU is 5-0 in those games ... junior guard Eric Evans missed the first 10 games while recovering from Oct. 27 foot surgery ... Evans, who missed eight weeks of practice, returned to action against Northwestern State on New Years Eve ... sophomore forward/center Rodrigo Peggau posted career highs in points (14) and rebounds (12) in his first career double-double in the opening day win over Bluefield State ... he has 15 points and 21 rebounds in seven games since ... had a streak of 19 consecutive games snapped when he did not dress for the IUPUI game due to a concussion suffered in practice on Dec. 14 ... was also held out of the George Mason and Northwestern State games ... averaging 13.9 min./g. ... has started four times ... true freshman forward Joel Wright played in the first seven games before not seeing action for the first time vs. WVU ... had 11 points (5-of-8 from the line) and five rebounds in 12 minutes vs. UMBC and added 11 more on 5-of-6 shooting vs. IUPUI ... scored nine points in nine first-half minutes vs. George Mason (finished with nine in a season high 20 minutes) ... has 30 points in his past three games ... scored 17 in his first seven ... is 15-of-29 (.517) from the foul line ... true freshman Jerry Jones has played in all 11 games off the bench ... scored a season-high five in 10 minutes vs. UMBC ... shooting .296 (8-of-27) ... has played double-digit minutes five times ... sophomore Andre Marhold played double digit minutes off the bench in each of the first four games before a strained groin kept him in street clothes vs. Pitt and at Penn State ... he dressed but did not play at Green Bay ... made his return in logging six minutes vs. West Virginia ... played a season-high 17 minutes at Bowling Green ... blocked three shots in the opener vs. Bluefield State ... is 7-of-9 from the field ... senior forward David Theis has played in six games ... scored five points in eight minutes against Bluefield State, had four points in five minutes at Bowling Green and four points and four rebounds in four minutes vs. IUPUI ... has played in 47 career games.
NOTES FROM THE DUKES CLIPBOARD
• Duquesne, which played in the NIT in 2009 & CBI last year, is looking to make its third-straight postseason appearance in 2011 - something that hasn't occurred on the Bluff since 1968-71 (NIT, NCAA, NIT & NCAA).
• DU, which has gone 10-19, 17-13, 21-13 & 16-16 in four seasons under head coach Ron Everhart, has posted 15+ wins in three straight years for the first time since `68-73. Duquesne was coming off a 3-24 season, and had finished above .500 once (1994) in the 21 years prior to Everhart taking over in 2006-07.
• The Dukes, who are averaging 16 wins per season under Everhart, won more than 16 games once (17-13 in 1994) in 25 seasons prior to Everhart's arrival.
• Thousand-point scoring seniors Damian Saunders (First Team All-Atlantic 10, A-10 Defensive Player of the Year & A-10 All-Defense Team) and Bill Clark lead the way for the Dukes in 2011. Saunders, who ranked among the NCAAs top 15 in steals (2nd), rebounds (6th), blocks (13th) and double-doubles (6th) last season, is averaging 11.8 ppg., 7.4 rpg. and 2.4 bpg. in 2010-11. Saunders is DU's career blocked shot and steals leader. Clark, who has 182 career 3-pointers, is averaging a team-best 17.3 ppg. Both Saunders and Clark, who have never experienced a losing season at Duquesne, topped the 1,000-point mark last season. Saunders did it on Feb. 11, 2010 vs. UMass and Clark did it three days later vs. La Salle. Both reached 1,000 as juniors in their 88th game.
• The 6-7 Saunders, who was first player in DU history to be named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, finished two steals shy of becoming the first player over 6-6 to lead the nation in steals per game in 2010 (Saunders finished second nationally at 2.8 spg.). Saunders' 89 steals in 32 games shattered the DU season record of 71 he set in 34 games as a sophomore. He tied his career high with six steals (five in the first half) on Dec. 8 at Green Bay and broke the DU career record with his 219th steal against George Mason on Dec. 22.
• Saunders became Duquesne's all-time leading shot blocker with his four rejections at Penn State on Dec. 4 ... Saunders, who has 240 career blocks, broke the old mark of 229 set by Derrick Alston in 114 games from 1991-94 ... Saunders broke the record in his 101st game.
• Saunders was the first Duquesne player in 39 years to open a season with six-straight double-doubles when he turned the trick last season. He added a second in-season streak of nine in a row. His 20 double-doubles were the most by a DU player since Bruce Atkins' 22 in 1980-81. He didn't go longer than three games without a double-double in 2010. Saunders posted his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds (and five assists & three blocks) vs. No. 3 (AP) Pitt on Dec. 1 and went for 12 and 11 vs. George Mason on Dec. 22.
• The Dukes played their first 10 games (5-5) without junior point guard Eric Evans, who underwent foot surgery on Oct. 27. Evans, who had streaks of 66 games (every game of his DU career) and 32 starts snapped by the injury, was cleared to resume practice on Dec. 21. He saw action for the first time vs. Northwestern State on Dec. 31.
• DU is 58-9 (6-1 in 2011) when leading with 5:00 minutes left under Ron Everhart.
• Everhart's Dukes have posted 23 road wins in five seasons. Of the 23 wins, 16 have been by double digits. In the 10 seasons prior to Everhart's arrival, Duquesne went 17-106 on the road with three double-digit victories.
• Ron Everhart's Dukes have scored 100 or more points 10 times in his five seasons. Only Red Manning, who saw his DU teams score 100 or more 23 times in 16 seasons (1959-74) has coached more triple-digit scoring Duquesne teams. Everhart's Dukes have scored 100 or more on the road five times.
• Duquesne has led at the half in 10 of 11 games, and held a lead of at least seven points at some point in every game this season.
• Duquesne's 16 3-pointers in its 110-67 season-opening win over Division II Bluefield State were one shy of the school record ... DU's 30 assists (on 41 field goals) tied the third-highest total in school history.
• The Dukes have had five or more double-digit scorers in five of their six wins (the Dukes had four in double digits and one with nine in their 81-54 win over IUPUI).
• Eight players have scored in double digits, and six players have led the team in scoring (including ties), in DU's first 10 games. Six players have 24 or more assists.
• DU hit at least eight 3-pointers in each of its first seven games before settling for five in its loss to WVU. Six players have attempted at least 28 3-pointers and four are shooting 40 percent or better from the arc: T.J. McConnell (.516, 16-of-31), Mike Talley (.419, 18-of-43), Bill Clark (.429, 30-of-70) and B.J. Monteiro (14-of-34, .412). Ten of the 12 players on the roster have hit at least one 3-pointer.
• Dec. 29 marked the first time the entire 2010-11 roster was healthy for the same practice.
