Jan. 23, 2014

Game Notes

Game 18: ST. BONAVENTURE (12-7, 2-3) at DUQUESNE (8-9, 1-4)
Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 7:00 EST • Pittsburgh, Pa. • A.J. Palumbo Center (4,406)
Radio: WPGB-FM 104.7 Ray Goss (`58) (pxp), Jarrett Durham (`71) (analyst)
Television: SNY with Ed Cohen (pxp), John Griffin (analyst)
** Game will also air locally live on PCNC **

CampusInsiders Live Stream
Streaming Audio

Duquesne, which took No. 19 (AP) Saint Louis to the wire before falling 76-72 on Wednesday, returns to action against St. Bonaventure (12-7, 2-3) on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised by SNY and will also air on www.CampusInsiders.com. Ed Cohen and John Griffin will describe the action for SNY.

SERIES QUICK NOTES
• This is the 111th meeting in a series that dates to Feb. 13, 1920 ... Duquesne leads 57-53, including a 29-27 lead in Atlantic 10 regular season games ... in games played at Pittsburgh, DU leads 38-15 ... the Dukes have won five of the last six at Palumbo Center ... SBU has won the last five at Reilly Center ... the Bonnies snapped a five-game Palumbo Center losing streak with a 78-71 win last year.

• St. Bonaventure is Duquesne's most frequent all-time opponent ... this is the 63rd consecutive season the two have met ... this is the ninth consecutive year the two are meeting home-and-home (DU is at SBU on Feb. 19).

• The Bonnies have won the past three meetings, including a two-game sweep last season.

• Duquesne owns more conference wins over St. Bonaventure (29) than any other A-10 school.

ON THE BONNIES
SBU is 2-5 on the road with wins at Iona and nearby Niagara ... the Bonnies have dropped close A-10 games at both UMass (68-73) and at Saint Louis (60-66) ... SBU led UMass by 13 in the second half ... the Bonnies went 10-4 in non-conference play ... the 10 non-league wins were the most by an SBU team since 1997 ... the Dukes and Bonnies share two non-conference opponents in Abilene Christian (DU W 94-75 & SBU W 75-47 both at home) and UMass Lowell (DU W away 95-77 & SBU W at home 67-58).

SLU LEFTOVERS
Leftovers from Duquesne's 76-72 Atlantic 10 loss to No. 19 (AP) Saint Louis on Wednesday: DU led 72-70 with 51 seconds left ... SLU scored the game's final six points ... there were six ties and 19 lead changes ... the Dukes scored a Saint Louis opponent season high 72 points ... SLU entered the game with the A-10's top scoring defense (57.3 ppg.) ... DU's .500 field goal pct. (24-of-48) was the highest vs. SLU this season ... Ovie Soko scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half ... Dominique McKoy and Micah Mason added 15 each for the Dukes ... Mason went 5-of-7 from 3-point ... it was his fourth career game with five "3's" (second at Duquesne) ... DU assisted on 17 of 24 field goals ... Derrick Colter led the Dukes with seven assists ... Mason had six with zero turnovers ... Saint Louis also shot an even .500 ... DU went 8-of-15 from the 3-point arc, SLU was 10-of-19 ... the Dukes outrebounded Saint Louis 30-27.

TRENDING
• Micah Mason followed his first career DU game without a 3-pointer by hitting 5-of-7 vs. Saint Louis (15 points). Mason has 14 assists and 3 turnovers in A-10 play

• Dominique McKoy is averaging 8.6 rpg. in five A-10 games.

• Ovie Soko, who scored a game-high 18 pts vs. SLU, is the only A-10 player ranked in the Top 10 in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (7.8).

• All five of DU's A-10 opponents have hit at least 10 3-pointers (FOR 16-41, LAS 10-22, SJU 17-27, VCU 12-30 & SLU 10-19) that's a combined 65-of-139 (.468).

QUICK NOTES
• The Dukes rank second in the A-10 in scoring (76.8) and assists/g (15.2 apg.). DU, which has had more assists than turnovers in 13 of 17 games, has posted 20 or more assists three times. DU leads the A-10 with a +1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

• As part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Weekend, coaches from both staffs will be wearing sneakers to show their support for Coaches vs. Cancer - a joint effort of the American Cancer Society and the NABC that empowers basketball coaches to help make a difference in the fight against cancer.

• DU, whose next three games are away from home, won't return to Palumbo Center until the annual Chuck Cooper Classic - this year vs. George Mason - on Feb. 8 at 2:00 p.m.

• The 2013-14 Dukes matched last season's win total (8-22) with their 87-81 Atlantic 10-opening win over Fordham on Jan. 8.

• Only three scholarship players are back from last year's 8-22 team: returning starters Derrick Colter and Jeremiah Jones along with senior Jerry Jones. DU also has three first-year players with Division I experience in senior Ovie Soko (88 games for UAB from 2010-12), JC transfer Dominique McKoy (30 games at Rhode Island in 2012) and sophomore Micah Mason (30 games at Drake last year). The 11 active scholarship players on the 2013-14 roster brought a combined total of 10 seasons of Division I experience into the season.

• Five of the Dukes' top seven scorers are first year players: UAB transfer Ovie Soko (17.2 ppg.), JC transfer Tra'Vaughn White (10.6), JC transfer Dominique McKoy (10.5), first-year Drake transfer Micah Mason (8.8) and freshman Desmond Ridenour (5.8).

• Eight players have scored 10 or more and six are averaging at least 8.2 points per game for the Dukes who are averaging 76.8 ppg.

• The Dukes fielded their entire roster for the first time on Dec. 21 at UMass Lowell. Freshman forward Isaiah Watkins, who underwent leg surgery on Jan. 31 in his hometown of Toronto, had additional arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Oct. 3 keeping him out of DU's first six games. He returned to action vs. Penn State on Dec. 11. Sophomore guard Micah Mason missed five games with a broken hand suffered Nov. 20 vs. Albany. He made his return with 14 points (4-of-6 from 3-point) at UMass Lowell on Dec. 21. A second Canadian, freshman forward, 6-8, 255-pound Jordan Robinson, has not been certified as eligible by the NCAA and has yet to practice.

• The Dukes have made 19 more free throws than their opponents have attempted. DU, which is averaging 27.2 free throw attempts per game, is outscoring its opponents by 124 points (7.3 ppg.) from the charity stripe. Senior forward Ovie Soko, who is challenging the school record for free throw attempts per game (he is currently at 9.18), has made good on 77-of-98 free throw attempts (.786) in his past 11 games (.718 for the season).

• Senior Ovie Soko (17.2, 7.8), who has scored in double digits 15 times, saw a streak of five consecutive 20-point games - including a career-high 29 in the A-10 opener vs. Fordham - snapped on Jan. 12 vs. La Salle (12 points). He was the first Duke to string together five consecutive 20-point games since Bryant McAllister did it in his final five games as a Duke in 2006. McAllister, who topped the 20-point mark 13 times in 26 games in 2005-06, led the A-10 in scoring in all games (19.7 ppg.) and conference-only games (20.7 ppg.) on his way to earning second team All-Atlantic 10 honors that season. Soko scored 29 points in three games following his career-high 29-point outburst vs. Fordham, prior to scoring a game-high 18 against Saint Louis.

• First-year Drake transfer Micah Mason, the top 3-point shooter in the Missouri Valley Conference last season (40-of-79, .506), was granted a waiver by the NCAA on Nov. 8 - the day before the season opener against Abilene Christian. Mason, a sophomore, hit a 3-pointer on his first touch in a Dukes uniform, 28 seconds after entering the ACU game. The western Pa. native had his breakout game with 18 points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting at West Virginia, before breaking a bone in his right hand in the first half of DU's 70-59 win over Albany three days later. The injury sidelined him for five games. Mason hit four "3"s in his return at UMass Lowell on Dec. 21 and added four more in the Dec. 29 win at UTPA. He had his top A-10 outing with five 3-pointers on seven attempts in scoring 15 points vs. Saint Louis. Mason is 30-of-51 from the arc (.588) with 31 assists and 6 turnovers this season.

• Micah Mason has shot 50 percent or better from the 3-point arc in 10 of 12 games. The only exceptions were the season-opener against Abilene Christian (1-of-4) and at VCU (0-of-4). He has hit at least one 3-pointer in 11 of the 12 games he's played and has hit four or more in a game four times.

• Sophomore guard Derrick Colter, who became just the fifth player - and first underclassman - to lead the Dukes in scoring and assists when he averaged 13.4 ppg. and 5.3 apg. last season, scored a team-high 23 in the opener against Abilene Christian and added 20 points, 7 assists and a career high-tying 4 steals vs. UMBC. Colter has reached the 20-point mark six times in his young career. Colter (9.9 ppg.), who leads the team with 67 assists, is tied for the top assist-to-turnover ratio in the A-10 (2.4-1). He has scored in double digits in four of five Atlantic 10 games (11.6 ppg.). Colter has started every game in his Duquesne career (47).

• First-year forward Dominique McKoy, who missed just seven shots in the month of December (24-of-31, 10.7 ppg. in six Dec. games), is shooting an A-10-best .670. McKoy, who has had at least six rebounds in 15 of 17 games, has scored in double digits 11 times. He posted his first career double-double (12-10) vs. Penn State and followed that with 16 points and 10 more boards vs. Robert Morris. He posted back-to back double-doubles in his first two A-10 games: 10-10 in the opener vs. Fordham and 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds vs. La Salle.

• Sophomore forward Jeremiah Jones who, like Colter, has played in every game in his Duquesne career (47 and counting with 39 starts), has established himself as the Dukes' top defender. Jones, who is averaging 26.3 min/g., has 31 assists and 13 turnovers this season. He has scored in double figures nine times.

• First-year transfer guard Tra'Vaughn White, who led the nation's JC's in scoring last year at 25.9 ppg., has scored double-digit points 10 times, including five off the bench. He scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to help the Dukes rally from a 10-point halftime deficit to post a win at Saint Francis, Pa. and followed that with 15 points (4-of-4 from 3-point) at UMass Lowell. The Dukes are 7-3 when White scores 10 or more.

• Freshman guard Desmond Ridenour, who scored all nine of his points in 14 first-half minutes against Pitt, topped that with 11 points at Saint Francis. He added eight points and six assists all in 13 second-half minutes at Saint Joseph's and followed that with eight more points and four steals at VCU. The Ohio native has 35 assists and 22 turnovers in under 17 min/g. off the bench.

• Senior Jerry Jones has scored in double digits three times this season. He had 14 points in 20 minutes in the win over UMBC and two games later added 10 points and a career-high six assists in 23 turnover-free minutes vs. Robert Morris. He tied his career high with four 3-pointers - including three in the last 59 seconds - in scoring 14 at Saint Joseph's. Jones has 20 assists and seven turnovers on the season.

• Duquesne, which began the week tied for 12th in NCAA Division I for fewest total turnovers, has four regulars with better than 2:1 assist/turnover ratios: Micah Mason - 5.2-to-1 (31-6), Jerry Jones - 2.9-to-1 (20-7), Derrick Colter - 2.4-to-1 (67-28) and Jeremiah Jones - 2.4-to-1 (31-13). Nine players have either led or tied for the team lead in assists in a game this season. DU began the week ranked 40th nationally in fewest turnovers/g. (current average at 10.9).

• DU won three in a row on the road for the first time since 2010-11 (five straight) in late December (at Saint Francis, at UMass Lowell and at Texas-Pan American. The three road wins have already eclipsed last year's total (2-12).


UP NEXT: DU heads to Newark, N.J. to face NJIT on Wed., Jan. 29 (7:00 p.m.) in the first of three consecutive a road games.