Jan. 10, 2011
Complete Duquesne Game Notes
Saint Louis Game Notes
Streaming Video
SAINT LOUIS (5-10, 0-2) at DUQUESNE (9-5, 1-0)
Wed., Jan. 12, 2011 • A.J. Palumbo Center (4,406) • Pittsburgh, Pa. • 7:00 (EST)
DUQUESNE RADIO: WPBG-FM (104.7) with Ray Goss & Jarrett Durham
STREAMING AUDIO: RedZoneMedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
GAMETRACKER/STREAMING VIDEO: GoDuquesne.com
DUKES RETURN HOME TO FACE SAINT LOUIS: Duquesne (9-5, 1-0), winner of four in a row, returns from a two-game road trip to face Saint Louis (5-10, 0-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m. (EST) in the Dukes' Atlantic 10 home opener. DU, is coming off a six-day road trip that included a 75-63 A-10 opening win at Saint Joseph's - DU's first win on Hawk Hill since 1992 - followed by an 81-64 non-conference victory at Houston Baptist on Saturday. Duquesne, whose win streak is tied with George Washington for the longest current among A-10 schools, is 5-1 at Palumbo Center this season. DU, which is averaging 92.8 ppg. at its on-campus home, has scored 90 or more four times, including 100+ twice, at Palumbo. Saint Louis saw its losing streak reach five in a 57-53 loss at Temple on Sunday. The Billikens, who don't start school until the 18th, came directly to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia. Duquesne is 18-14 in Atlantic 10 home games under fifth-year head coach Ron Everhart. SLU has won three of the past four against DU including a two-game sweep last season. Four of the past six meetings have been decided by 11 total points with two of the past four going to overtime including a 79-75 double-overtime Saint Louis win at the Palumbo Center last season. This is the first of two in a row at home for the Dukes who host No. 19 (AP)/23 (ESPN) Temple on Saturday at Noon (CBS College Sports syndication TV).
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 252 career blocks (old record of 229 was set by Derrick Alston from 1991-94) and 228 steals (old record 218 by Kenya Hunter from 1993-96) ... Saunders ranks 21st on DU's all-time scoring list with 1,281 points ... he needs 12 rebounds to pass Alston and move into the fifth spot on the all-time rebound list (Saunders has 868) ... senior Bill Clark, who has hit five or more 3-pointers in a game four times, leads DU at 17.4 ppg. ... Clark ranks third on DU's all-time list with 191 career 3-pointers ... Clark (1,352 points) enters the SLU game needing four points to pass Brian Shanahan (1,355 from 1986-89) and move into the 16th spot on the all-time scoring list ... two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week freshman T.J. McConnell ranks among the top five in five A-10 categories: steals (3.1, 1st), 3-PT% (.500, 3rd), FG% (,555, 4th), assists (4.6, 4th) and assist/TO ratio (2.0, 4th) ... DU, which shot .261 from the 3-point arc last season (282nd nationally), is shooting .399 from long distance ... DU is 19-of-42 from the arc (.452) in its past two games ... the Dukes, who are averaging 19.1 apg., have assisted on 69% of their field goals.
THE SERIES: This is the 12th meeting between Duquesne and sixth-year Atlantic 10 member Saint Louis ... Duquesne leads the series 6-5 ... in regular season Atlantic 10 play SLU leads 4-3 ... DU is 3-2 vs. SLU at home ... Saint Louis is one of three A-10 teams the Dukes will face twice this season (Dayton and St. Bonaventure are the others) ... last year, Saint Louis swept the season series with a 79-75 double overtime win at Pittsburgh and 69-59 victory at St. Louis ... four of the past six meetings have been decided by a total of 11 points, including two in overtime ... fifth-year DU head coach Ron Everhart is 3-4 against the Billikens.
SAINT LOUIS THIS YEAR: Saint Louis saw its losing streak reach five in a 57-53 loss at Temple on Sunday ... SLU's last win was on Dec. 22 over Northeastern (71-49) at the Governor's Cup in Cancun, Mexico ... the Billikens, who don't begin classes until Jan. 18, came directly to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia following the Temple game ... this is the fifth true road game for the Billikens who are 1-6 away from home ... associate head coach Porter Moser is serving as head coach of the Billikens on the road trip ... he is replacing head coach Rick Majerus, who suffered a leg injury during SLU's game against Bowling Green Jan. 1 and is recovering at home ... Moser has seven years of NCAA Division I head coaching experience, most recently at Illinois State (2003-07) ... sophomore F Cody Ellis (Perth, Australia) was named to the A-10 preseason All-Conference third team ... freshman F Rob Loe (Auckland, New Zealand) was selected to the All-Rookie team ... SLU was picked to finish sixth in the A-10 preseason poll ... junior guard Kwamain Mitchell, who missed the first semester, has enrolled in classes and has begun practicing with the Billikens ... his status for the Duquesne game is uncertain as he awaits clearance from the NCAA ... a second-team All-A10 pick a season ago, Mitchell led the team in scoring with 15.9 ppg and was second with 106 assists.
CONTRASTING STYLES: The Duquesne/Saint Louis game will be a classic clash of styles. DU ranks at the top of the A-10 with an 81.9 ppg. scoring average, while SLU ranks at the bottom at 62.2 ppg. The Billikens are giving up just 63.3 ppg. The Dukes are forcing 20.5 turnovers per game, while Saint Louis is turning it over just 13.3 times per contest.
THE "THREE" IS THE KEY: Saint Louis, winner of three of the past four meetings, has relied on its perimeter defense for success against the Dukes. In the three losses, Duquesne has gone a combined 13-of-46 (28.3%) from the 3-point arc, including 8-of-27 in SLU's season sweep last year ... in its last win over SLU on March 4, 2009 at the Palumbo Center (70-68), DU - led by Bill Clark's 5-of-6 performance - went 9-of-21 from the arc ... Clark hit all five "three's" in the second half against a Billiken team that entered the game leading the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense.
"POINT" ME TO PALUMBO: Duquesne is averaging 92.8 ppg. in six games at the A.J. Palumbo Center (557 points in 6 g.) this season. The Dukes, who have yet to score fewer than 79 points at their on-campus home, have topped 100 twice and 90 four times at Palumbo where they are 5-1. DU is averaging 73.8 ppg. away from home (including two games at CONSOL Energy Center).
70 IS THE KEY: Duquesne is 69-34 under Ron Everhart when scoring 70 or more points (9-2 this year). Conversely, the Dukes are 4-32 (0-3 this year) when scoring under 70 under the fifth-year head coach.
QUICK HITS
Senior forward/guard Bill Clark has led the Dukes in scoring a team-high eight times ... the California native ranks 17th on DU's all-time scorers' list with 1,352 points ... he needs four to pass Brian Shanahan (1,355 from 1986-89) and move into the No. 16 spot ... Clark, who has scored 20 or more five times (22 at Robert Morris, 20 vs. Pitt, 21 vs. George Mason, 21 vs. Northwestern State & 24 at Saint Joseph's), 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) ... put together back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his career vs. George Mason (21) & Northwestern State (21) ... Clark, who has a team-high 39 3-pointers, moved into third on DU's all-time list with his first of three 3-pointers vs. Northwestern State on Dec. 31 ... he enters the Saint Louis game with 191 "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 549 ... has hit five 3-pointers in a game four times this season, with four coming 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 2.7 apg. ... he had a career-high nine in the season opener vs. Bluefield State ... flirted with a triple-double with 15 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes vs. the Division II Big Blues ... is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game including a career high-tying 14 vs. IUPUI ... has a team-best 33 offensive boards ... leads the team with 13 charges taken ... became the sixth player in Dukes' history to post a school-record seven steals in a game at Houston Baptist ... he had five steals in the first half alone ... has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games including the past seven ... is 27-of-31 from the foul line (87%) over that seven-game span ... 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 Saint Louis game with 252 rejections ... he added the DU career steals record at the 1:30 mark of the first half vs. George Mason on Dec. 22 ... his 228 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 ... scored 13 of his 14 points vs. Norfolk State in the first half ... added four blocks against the Spartans ... had 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four blocks and two steals in the A-10 opening win over Saint Joseph's ... followed that with 12 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals at Houston Baptist ... Saunders a 34 percent 3-point shooter his first two seasons, slumped to 18.9 percent last year (18-of-95) ... he looks to have regained his former form with a 34.4 percent success rate this season (11-of-32) ... Saunders, who entered the year a .485 career free throw shooter, is 32-of-59 (.542) from the line this year ... true freshman T.J. McConnell ranks 5th nationally in steals per game (3.1) ... he's had at least two steals in all but one game ... his 1.97-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (65-33) ranks fourth in the conference ... has scored in double digits nine 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 ... won the award a second time on Jan. 10 after averaging 13.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals in road wins at Saint Joseph's and Houston Baptist ... 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 nine times and led the team in assists a team-high nine times ... is shooting .555 from the field and .500 (21-of-42) from the 3-point arc ... has started 13 times (he didn't start at Penn State coming off a foot injury suffered against Pitt) ... fellow freshman Mike Talley, who has started 12 times, has hit three or more 3-pointers four 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 six 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 ... was 1-of-10 from the 3-point arc in five games prior to going 3-of-6 from the arc at Houston Baptist ... followed his first career scoreless game (zero points in 18 minutes at Saint Joseph's) with 13 points in 22 minutes at HBU ... has handed out 16 assists with seven turnovers in his past six games ... junior guard/forward B.J. Monteiro has scored in double digits 10 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 26 offensive rebounds ... has blocked at least one shot in 11 of 14 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) ... Monteiro, who entered the season a 28.8 percent career 3-point shooter (23-of-80), is shooting 42.5 percent from the arc (17-of-40) ... sophomore guard Sean Johnson came off the bench to post a career-high 19 points (9-of-9 from the foul line) vs. Norfolk State on Jan. 2 ... tied his previous career-high with 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 seven times ... DU is 7-0 in those games ... is 1-of-11 from 3-point in his past seven games ... ended a five-game 3-point drought by hitting 1-of-2 at Saint Joseph's ... 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 Year's Eve ... posted his first double digit game with 10 points vs. Norfolk State ... has seven assists with just two turnovers in his past two games ... 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) had 10 in back-to-back games vs. Northwestern State and Norfolk State ... averaging 7.7 ppg. on .500 shooting (15-of-30) in his past six games ... averaged 2.4 ppg. on .333 shooting (5-of-15) in his first seven ... has attempted 38 free throws in 165 minutes is 16-of-23 (.696) from the line in his past six games ... is fourth on the team with 20 offensive rebounds ... true freshman Jerry Jones has played in all 14 games off the bench ... scored a season-high five in 10 minutes vs. UMBC ... shooting .300 (9-of-30) ... has played double-digit minutes six times ... 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 17 points and 23 rebounds in eight 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 ... made his return against Norfolk State on Jan. 2 ... has played in just one of the past six games ... averaging 13.4 min./g. ... has started four 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 on Nov. 22 ... blocked three shots in the opener vs. Bluefield State ... is 8-of-10 from the field with three dunks ... senior forward David Theis has scored in five of the seven games he's played ... 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 ... is 3-of-5 from 3-point ... has played in 48 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 (2010 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 is DU's career blocked shot and steals leader, is averaging 12.4 ppg., 7.2 rpg. and 2.8 bpg. in 2010-11. Saunders ranks 21st in career points and sixth in career rebounds at Duquesne. Clark, who has 191 career 3-pointers, is averaging a team-best 17.4 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 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 252 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 61-9 (9-1 in 2011) when leading with 5:00 minutes left under Ron Everhart.
• Everhart's Dukes have posted 25 road wins in five seasons. Of the 25 wins, 18 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. Everhart's Dukes own the five largest margins of victory ever posted by Duquesne teams in A-10 road games.
• 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 13 of 14 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.
• DU tied the school record with 17 steals at Houston Baptist ... in that game Bill Clark tied the single-game mark with seven ... Clark shares the record with five other players.
• The Dukes have had five or more double-digit scorers in seven of their nine wins (the Dukes had four in double digits and one with nine in their 81-54 win over IUPUI & four in double digits in the win at Saint Joseph's).
• Six players have attempted at least 30 3-pointers and four (with over 10 att.) are shooting 40 percent or better from the arc: T.J. McConnell (.500, 21-of-42), Bill Clark (.433, 39-of-90), B.J. Monteiro (17-of-40, .425) and Mike Talley (.412, 21-of-51). Ten of the 12 players on the roster have hit at least one 3-pointer.
• All nine of DU's wins have been by double digits, with six by 20 or more.
• Dec. 29 marked the first time the entire 2010-11 roster was healthy for the same practice.
