Dec. 15, 2014
THE SERIES
Saint Francis is Duquesne's second consecutive Northeast Conference opponent ... the Dukes lost at Robert Morris, 75-59, on Saturday ... DU leads the series with Saint Francis 62-12 ... this is the 75th meeting between the two ... the Dukes have faced only St. Bonaventure, West Virginia and Pitt more often ... this is the second game of a home-and-home series ... last year, Duquesne erased a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Red Flash 78-71 at DeGol Arena ... DU has won 31 of the past 33 meetings including 11 in a row ... SFU's last win at Duquesne was Dec. 1, 1966 at the Civic Arena ... DU has won 16 in a row over the Red Flash at home.
MORE ON SFU
SFU went 10-21 last season (5-13 on the road) ... the Red Flash return their top four scorers led by senior forward Earl Brown (14.4, 8.0, .531 FG%) ... senior guard Ben Millaud-Meunier hit 56 3-pointers off the bench last season, including 5-of-9 in SFU's 78-71 loss to the Dukes ... SFU, which was picked to finish fourth in the NEC preseason poll, is in its third season under head coach Rob Krimmel.
SFU THIS YEAR
Saint Francis has won four of its past six to even its record at 4-4 ... all four losses have come on the road where the Red Flash are 1-4: at Cincinnati (L, 37-52), at American (L, 46-49), at Texas (L, 46-78), at Navy (W, 85-68) and at Lehigh (L, 59-61) ... Texas (78) is the only school to score more than 70 against SFU this season ... the Red Flash have held opponents to 61.1 ppg. ... opponents are shooting just .431 (.265 from 3-point) against SFU ... SFU has been one of the hottest shooting teams in the country since its Nov. 25 loss at Texas ... in its past three games, the Red Flash are shooting .549 from the field, including 30-of-65 (.462) from the 3-point arc ... in its past three games, SFU has hit 11, 8 and 11 3-pointers ... six-six senior forward Earl Brown, who had 21 points and 10 boards against Duquesne last season, leads SFU in scoring (14.0 ppg.) and rebounding (6.8 rpg.) ... Brown, a preseason All-NEC pick, has led the Red Flash in scoring four times and rebounding seven times in eight games ... sophomore guard Malik Harmon is also averaging in double figures at 10.0 ppg. ... point guard Greg Brown (6.3 ppg.) leads the team with 29 assists with just eight turnovers ... four Red Flash players have hit 10 or more 3-pointers led by Harmon and Ben Millaud-Meunier with 14 apiece ... SFU has been idle since its 69-59 win over Albany on Dec. 6.
THE DUKES
LEFTOVERS FROM ROBERT MORRIS
Leftovers from Duquesne's 75-59 loss at Robert Morris on Saturday: DU set season lows for points (59), margin of defeat (-16), field goals (19) and field goal percentage (.311) ... Derrick Colter (4-of-9 from 3-point) and freshman Eric James scored 17 points each for DU ... James' 17 points were a career high ... no one else scored more than five ... Duquesne went 8-of-35 from 3-point ... the 35 attempts were a DU Ferry Era high ... DU was 13-of-25 from the foul line ... the Dukes led just once, at 3-0 ... Robert Morris' largest lead was 20 points with 3:57 left ... RMU, which blocked eight Duquesne shots, outrebounded DU 46-36 ... LG. Gill set career highs for rebounds (9) and blocks (3).
QUICK NOTES
• Duquesne, coming off a 75-59 loss at Robert Morris on Saturday, opens a four-game homestand against a second-consecutive Northeast Conference opponent when Saint Francis U visits on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7:00 p.m. This is the 75th meeting between the Dukes and Red Flash in a series that dates to Jan. 17, 1914.
• DU, which is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, has won 31 of the past 33 meetings - including the last 11 in a row - over Saint Francis. Last year, Duquesne rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat SFU 78-71 at Loretto, Pa.
• The Dukes, who averaged 88.8 ppg. in their first four games, have scored 62, 62 & 59 in their past three. DU is 64-of-177 (.362) from the field and 19-of-76 from 3-point (.250) over that three-game span.
• Junior Derrick Colter, who made the move from point guard to two guard this season, ranked second nationally in individual 3-point percentage (21-35, .600) through Sunday.
• Six-six freshman TySean Powell (11.6 ppg.) has missed just 12 shots in his first seven college games (31-43, .721). Powell leads the team in double-digit scoring games (5), dunks (13) and conventional three-point plays (5 in 5 attempts). Fellow freshman 6-5 Eric James (8.7 ppg.) has four double-digit games under his belt, including 17 at RMU on Saturday. James (16-30) & Powell (19-27) rank 1st & 2nd on the team in free throw attempts.
• Building quality depth has been a priority of head coach Jim Ferry since his arrival at Duquesne. Through 7 games, DU's bench has outscored the opponent bench 253-127 (an average of 18 ppg.). The DU bench, which posted a high of 67 points at Abilene Christian, has outscored its opponent in five of seven games.
• Micah Mason, who led the nation in 3-point percentage (.560) while playing exclusively at shooting guard last season, has made the move to the point in 2014-15. Through seven games, the junior has 21 assists with 14 turnovers and is shooting .413 (19-of-46) from the 3-point arc. Derrick Colter, who played the point for the past two years, is shooting .510, including .600 (21-of-35) from 3-point, since moving over to the two-guard spot. Mason missed last year's SFU game with a broken hand.
• Duquesne was picked to finish 11th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 in the annual poll of league coaches and media. National media outlets pegged the Dukes to finish anywhere from 7th (Basketball Times & College Basketball Madness) to 12th (Athlon).
• The Dukes return four starters - junior guards Derrick Colter (9.1, 2.5 in 2014) & Micah Mason (10.6, 2.8), junior forward Jeremiah Jones (6.3, 3.4) and senior forward Dominique McKoy (9.7, 7.2) - from last year's 13-17 team (5-11 in the Atlantic 10, tied for 10th place).
• Duquesne's roster consists of one senior, six juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. The Dukes have four first-year scholarship players.
• Micah Mason, who led the nation in 3-point shooting percentage in 2014 (65-116, .560), hit a career-high six 3-pointers in seven attempts vs. NJIT on Nov. 29. Mason has now hit five or more "3s" in a game six times (four at Duquesne and two as a freshman at Drake). Mason has struggled from the arc - by Mason standards - in his past three games, going 4-of-20. To put that in perspective, this is the first time in his career he has shot under 50 percent from the 3-point arc in three-straight games.
• DU's 11.0 turnovers/g. last season was the lowest mark in school history (previous was 11.5 in 1995). Returning guards Mason (74/13), Colter (101/54) & Ridenour (59/41) combined for 234 assists and 108 turnovers (a 2.2-to-1 ratio) in 2014. The Dukes, with four first-year players playing prominent roles, are averaging 13.0 turnovers per game this season.
NEXT UP: Duquesne hosts UMass Lowell (6-4) in its final pre-Christmas game on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 1:00 p.m.
