Feb. 15, 2011

Complete Duquesne Game Notes
UMass Game Notes

Streaming Video

DUQUESNE (16-7, 8-2) at MASSACHUSETTS (13-10, 5-5)
Wed., Feb. 16, 2011 ­• Mullins Center (9,493) • Amherst, Mass. • 7:00 (EST)

DUQUESNE RADIO: WPBG-FM (104.7) with Ray Goss & Jarrett Durham
STREAMING AUDIO: RedZoneMedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
STREAMING VIDEO/GAMETRACKER: UMassAthletics.com

Duquesne (16-7, 8-2), which dropped out of a two-way tie for first in the Atlantic 10 with its 71-63 loss to Xavier on Sunday, heads to Amherst, Mass. to face the University of Massachusetts (13-10, 5-5) at 7:00 on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The UMass game is the first of two in a row on the road for the Dukes who have followed their school-best 8-0 A-10 start with losses to St. Bonaventure and Xavier. UMass, which is 8-5 at home, has lost three in a row including a 59-51 decision to George Washington at home on Sunday afternoon. The Minutemen, who opened the season 7-0, are fourth in the A-10 in defensive field goal percentage (.405) and are limiting opponents to 67.3 ppg. The Dukes, who are averaging an A-10 best 80.2 ppg., have managed just 125 points (62.5 ppg.) on 36 percent shooting (45-of-125) in their past two games. DU is 15-of-50 (.300) from the 3-point arc over that span. Despite their offensive struggles, the Dukes continue to force opponent turnovers (38 in the past two games). DU is outscoring A-10 opponents 214 to 109 off turnovers. Duquesne can safely stake its claim as the nation's most unselfish team with an NCAA-best 18.7 assists/g. The Dukes, who rank among the top 25 in eight NCAA statistical categories, also lead the nation in turnover margin (+7.4). DU has led at the half in 20 of 23 games and enjoyed at least a four-point lead in every game this season. All 16 of DU's wins have been by double-digit margins.

DUQUESNE LATELY: Senior preseason All-A10 Damian Saunders, who will be making his 108th career start and playing in his 119th game vs. UMass, became DU's all-time blocks & steals leader in Dec. ... the 6-7 Connecticut native has 275 career blocks (old record of 229 was set by Derrick Alston from 1991-94) and 252 steals (old record 218 by Kenya Hunter from 1993-96) ... Saunders (1,402 pts.) needs 12 points to pass Mike James (1,411 from 1995-98) for 14th on the all-time scoring list ... Saunders ranks third in all-time rebounds with 943 ... senior Bill Clark, who leads DU at 17.3 ppg., ranks third on DU's all-time list with 208 career 3-pointers ... Clark (10th all time with 1,506 points in 117 g.) enters the UM game needing 28 points to pass Bruce Atkins (1,533 from 1979-82) and take over the No. 9 spot ... five-time A-10 Rookie of the Week T.J. McConnell ranks among the top three in three A-10 categories: steals (2.9, 1st), assist/TO ratio (2.6, 2nd) and assists (4.4, 3rd) ... DU, which shot .261 from the 3-point arc last season (282nd nationally), is shooting .375 from long distance ... DU is 11-2 since the return of junior G Eric Evans (foot surgery, missed eight weeks) ... junior F B.J. Monteiro is averaging 16.6 ppg. in his past seven games ... the Dukes are looking for their school record-tying fourth conference road win ... 1981 (4-3) & 2009 (4-4) are the only seasons DU has won four league road games.

THE SERIES: Massachusetts, which leads the overall series 34-23, had won four in a row prior to DU's win at Amherst in 2009 (94-77) ... the win at UMass snapped an 11-game Minutemen home win streak over the Dukes dating back to Jan. 14, 1989 ... DU followed that with a 91-81 win in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship to post back-to-back victories over the Minutemen for the first time since 2004 ... last year, UMass rallied from a 50-34 deficit with 17:16 left to defeat the Dukes 84-80 in overtime at Palumbo Center ... the regular-season series has been one of home court advantage with UMass leading 18-6 at home and DU holding a 13-12 edge at Pittsburgh ... Danny Nee's Dukes snapped a 16-game series losing streak (dating back to 1991) with a 78-69 win over the Minutemen on February 6, 2002 at the Palumbo Center ... since then, UMass has won six and Duquesne has won four.

EVERHART VS. UMASS: DU head coach Ron Everhart is 3-3 all-time vs. Massachusetts (2-1 at Amherst) with an 84-68 win at UMass on Dec. 1, 2004 while at Northeastern, a 101-87 loss at Amherst in 2007, a 94-80 defeat at the Palumbo Center in 2008, a 94-77 win at Amherst and a 91-81 win over the Minutemen in the first round of the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship in 2009 and an 84-80 overtime loss at Palumbo Center last year.

MINUTEMEN THIS YEAR: UMass, picked to finish 11th in the A-10 in a preseason poll of league coaches and media, began the week tied for seventh in the conference ... the Minutemen have already surpassed their win total for each of the past two seasons (12 wins in 2009 & 2010) ... UMass is 8-5 at home, including a 3-2 mark in A-10 home games ... the conference losses came to Richmond (84-68) and George Washington (59-51)... leading scorer 6-3 senior guard Anthony Gurley (19.3 ppg.) saw his streak of 22 consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped on Sunday vs. George Washington (7 points on 2-of-15 shooting) ... Gurley had 20 in UMass's 84-80 OT win over Duquesne last year ... the Minutemen are 6-10 after opening the season 7-0 ... UMass has held opponents under 40 percent shooting in each of its five A-10 wins

XAVIER LEFTOVERS: Notes from Duquesne's 71-63 loss to Xavier on Sunday at CONSOL Energy Center ... the game was played before a sellout crowd of 10,509 ... it was the largest for a Duquesne home game - against an opponent other than cross-town rival Pitt - since 12,222 turned out to see DU vs. No. 8 (AP) Maryland on Feb. 21, 1973 at the then-Civic Arena ... DU led 49-43 with 11:03 left ... Xavier held the Dukes to one field goal from the 12:38 to 3:21 mark of the second half (9:17 span) ... the Musketeers turned a five-point deficit into a 10-point lead over that span ... Damian Saunders (11 points in 24 minutes) picked up his fourth foul with 16:16 to go ... B.J. Monteiro, who fouled out with 20 seconds left, picked up his fourth at the 13:32 mark ... each team had 21 field goals and DU had one more 3-pointer (8-7) ... the Dukes were outscored 22-13 from the foul line (Xavier was 22-of-30 and Duquesne went 13-of-27) ... DU managed just 10 points off of 20 XU turnovers ... Monteiro scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the first half ... Tu Holloway scored 15 of his game-high 20 in the final 11:02 for Xavier ... there were a total of 10 bench points in the game (four for Xavier and six for Duquesne) ... DU shot 7-of-27 in the second half ... DU, which trailed 55-53 with 7:53 left, missed six of its final eight free throw attempts ... the loss snapped Duquesne's home conference win streak at a school record-tying eight.

DU AT A GLANCE: Duquesne, whose starting lineup goes 5-10, 6-0, 6-5, 6-5 & 6-7, has been led by senior 1,000-point scorers Bill Clark (1,506 points in 117 g,) and Damian Saunders (1,402 points in 118 g.). DU stake a claim as one of the most unselfish teams in the nation with five players over 55 assists. The Dukes, who averaged an Everhart Era "low" 70.3 ppg. last season, have returned to their running ways under their fifth-year head coach (80.2 ppg.). DU began the week ranked among the nation's top 25 in eight categories: assists (1st at 18.7), turnover margin (1st at 7.4), steals (2nd at 9.8), scoring margin (13th at +13.6), scoring (13th at 80.2), assist/turnover ratio (13th at 1.41), blocked shots (18th at 5.4) and 3-point field goals per game (21st at 8.4). True freshman T.J. McConnell, the five-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, ranks fourth nationally in steals per game (2.9 spg.). He and fellow freshman and Mike Talley have started 18 times side-by-side in the backcourt. McConnell (29) and Talley (28), who rank third and fourth on the team in 3-pointers made, have 159 assists and 76 turnovers (2.1-to-1 ratio) between them.

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 & 16-7 (and counting) in five seasons under head coach Ron Everhart, has posted 15+ wins in four 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.

• DU's 11-game winning streak from Dec. 31 through Feb. 2 was the school's longest since 1970-71 ... this is the first time in school history a Duquesne team opened conference play 8-0 ... the previous best mark was 3-0 in 2008-09 ... the eight consecutive conference wins were also a school record (old mark was five in 1980-81 & 2006-07).

• 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. Saunders, who is DU's career blocked shot and steals leader ranks 15th in career points (1,402) and third in career rebounds (943). He is already DU's career steals (252) and blocked shot (275) leader. Clark, who has 208 career 3-pointers, ranks 10th on the scoring list with 1,506 points. Saunders and Clark have never experienced a losing season at Duquesne.

• The 6-7 Saunders, who was first player in DU history to be named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, finished two steals shy of becoming the first player over 6-6 to lead the nation in steals/g. last season (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 added five more at Fordham. He broke the DU career record with his 219th steal against George Mason on Dec. 22. Saunders, who has 47 steals this season, is second in the A-10 in spg. in conference play (2.6).

• Saunders became Duquesne's all-time leading shot blocker with his four rejections at Penn State on Dec. 4 ... the old mark of 229 was set by 6-10 Derrick Alston in 114 games from 1991-94 ... Saunders broke the record in his 101st game.

• Saunders, who has 32 career double-doubles, posted his first this 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. He added his 30th career double-double (11-10) vs. Saint Louis, 31st at Fordham (13-12) & 32nd at St. Bonaventure (16-14).

• 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. Duquesne is 11-2 since Evans' return.

• Dec. 29 marked the first time the entire 2010-11 roster was healthy for the same practice.

• DU is 68-10 (16-2 in 2011) when leading with 5:00 minutes left under Ron Everhart.

• Everhart's Dukes have posted 27 road wins in five seasons. Of the 27 wins, 20 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 seven of the nine largest margins of victory 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 20 of 23 games (trailed vs. Pitt and at St. Bonaventure & tied at La Salle), and held a lead of at least four points at some point in every game this season.

• 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 matched that mark for the second time in four games at La Salle on Jan. 19.

• The Dukes have had five or more double-digit scorers in 10 of their 16 wins.

• Six players have attempted at least 45 3-pointers. Every returning player is shooting a better percentage from the arc in 2010-11 than he did last season.

• All 16 of DU's wins have been by double digits, with eight by 20 or more.

• Duquesne is tied for second-most road wins in the A-10 (six) ... the Dukes won five in a row on the road (Dec. 8 through Jan. 26) for the first time since a two-season streak of five that ended in December of 1985.

• Duquesne, which is assisting on just under 68 percent of its field goals, is averaging a nation's-best 18.7 assists per game. Five players have 55 or more assists.

• The Dukes have a +9.7 turnover margin (11.0 committed to 20.7 forced) in Atlantic 10 play.

• DU's top four scorers: Bill Clark (17.3 ppg., .490), Damian Saunders (12.8 ppg., .498), B.J. Monteiro (12.2 ppg., .480) and T.J. McConnell (11.0 ppg., .519) are shooting .480 or better from the field.

• Duquesne's margin of victory in its eight conference wins is +17.6 ppg.

• T.J. McConnell's five A-10 Rookie of the Week mentions have tied the school record set by Robert Mitchell in 2006-07.

• DU is 14-2 in afternoon games (pre-6:00 p.m. tip) over the past two seasons (9-1 in 2010 and 5-0 this year). The matinee loss were 78-72 in overtime at Dayton last year and 71-63 to Dayton at home this year.

• The Dukes have already surpassed last year's conference win total (7-9/T8th in 2009-10) and clinched a winning season for the third time in four years.

• DU received votes in the AP poll for three weeks from Jan. 24 through Feb. 7.