Nov. 12, 2015
QUICK NOTES
• Duquesne is in its fourth season under head coach Jim Ferry. Ferry, who came to DU after leading LIU Brooklyn to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2011 & 2012), is the 16th coach in school history. This is the 100th season for Duquesne basketball.
• DU has compiled an 82-17 record in season-opening games, including a 77-4 record when opening the season at home. The four losses came in 1927-28 to Ohio Wesleyan (36-23); 1966-67 to St. Francis (81-63); 1989-90 to Detroit (108-97 in 2OT) and in 2005-06 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (64-56). Jim Ferry is 2-1 in season openers at DU (2-0 at home). The Dukes are 91-8 all-time in the first home game of the season, including a 22-5 mark at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
• The Dukes return four starters - senior guards Derrick Colter (13.2, 2.9) & Micah Mason (12.8, 4.0), senior forward Jeremiah Jones (7.3, 4.5) and junior center Darius Lewis (3.5, 3.1) - from last year's 12-19 team (6-12 in the Atlantic 10/11th place). Duquesne was picked to finish 11th in the 2015-16 Atlantic 10 annual preseason poll of coaches and media.
• DU's opening roster consists of: 4 seniors, 2 juniors, 6 sophomores and 4 freshmen. Four scholarship players will be making their Duquesne debut: sophomore transfer Rene Castro (Butler), freshman transfer Mar'Qywell Jackson (UTEP) and true freshmen Nakye Sanders and Josh Steel.
THE OPPONENT
Series Record: First Meeting
Seton Hill University, located in Greensburg, Pa., competes at the Division II level in the PSAC West ... this is the first regular season meeting between the Griffins and Dukes ... the game is considered part of the Gulf Coast Showcase ... DU defeated Seton Hill 129-67 in an exhibition game on Nov. 3, 2007 at Palumbo Center in the only other meeting between the schools ... the Griffins, who are coached by Trafford, Pa. native Tony Morocco, finished 7-19 last year ... Morocco, who has coached at Division I schools St. Francis Brooklyn, Iowa, Long Beach State and UNLV, is in his 13th season as head coach of the Griffins ... he has coached SHU since the program's inception ... a pair of former Dukes, Oliver Lewinson (2009-10) and Rodrigo Peggau (2009-11) finished their playing careers at Seton Hill ...the Golden Griffins, who are beginning their third season in the PSAC, were picked to finish ninth in the league's preseason coaches poll ... senior guard Kameron Taylor (13.2 ppg., 2.0 apg., 31 steals), who played high school ball at DeMatha Catholic, was named to the PSAC West All-Preseason Team ... Taylor is the lone senior on a 16-man roster that has just five upperclassmen ... 6-8, 240-pound Chartiers Valley HS grad Spencer Casson (5.2, 6.5) led the PSAC and ranked eighth in DII with 75 blocks last season ... 6-6 junior forward Noah Davis, averaged 11.1 ppg. last year, led the team with 51 3-pointers (51-115, .443) ... SHU finished 7-19 last season (6-16/9th PSAC West).
MORE ON THE DUKES
• 2015-16 marks the 100th season for Duquesne basketball.
• Duquesne returns four starters - 5-11 Sr. G Derrick Colter (13.2, 2.9 last year, 91 career g.), 6-2 Sr. G Micah Mason (12.8, 4.0 last year, 86 career g.), 6-4 Sr. F Jeremiah Jones (7.3, 4.5 last year, 91 career g.) & 6-11 Jr. C Darius Lewis (3.5, 3.1 last year, 41 career g.) from last year's 12-19 (6-12, 11th in Atlantic 10) team. Colter & Jones - who were part of Jim Ferry's first recruiting class - have played in every game in their Duquesne careers. Mason, who transferred to DU after one season at Drake, is on pace to be the second most-accurate 3-point shooter in NCAA history (.492). Colter enters his senior year with 1,086 points.
• DU's five other returning lettermen include: 6-11 Jr. C Darius Lewis (3.5, 3.1), 6-8 Jr. F L.G. Gill (6.9, 4.1), 6-5 So. F Eric James (4.6, 2.4), 6-8 So. F TySean Powell (6.9, 3.2) and 6-8 So. C Jordan Robinson (3.9, 2.1).
• Two transfers who practiced with the team while sitting out last season are eligible in 2015-16: 6-2 So. G Rene Castro (Butler) and 6-5 Fr. G Mar'Qywell Jackson (UTEP).
• The Dukes added a three-man recruiting class in 6-8 Fr. F Nakye Sanders (Staten Island, N.Y.), 6-4 Fr. G Josh Steel (Harlow, England) and University of Nebraska transfer 6-2 So. G Tarin Smith (Ocean Township, N.J.). Smith, who played in all 31 games for the Cornhuskers last season, will sit out in 2015-16.
• Colter (1,086), Mason (823) and Jones (646), who have played in a combined 268 games with 238 starts, all enter their senior years with over 600 points.
• Colter (13.2 ppg.) and Mason (12.8 ppg.) shot a combined .438 from the 3-point arc in finishing one & two on the team in scoring last season. A guard either led, or tied for the team lead in scoring, in 28 of 31 games in 2015. The lone non-guards to lead the Dukes in scoring outright were returnees L.G. Gill (twice) and Jeremiah Jones.
• The 3-point shooting of Colter (60-141, .426) and Mason (88-197, .447) helped the Dukes finish with the third-best single-season mark in school history (.370) - and best by a DU team since 1992 - last season. DU's 7.9 3-pointers per game was the fifth-best mark in school history.
• Mason, who led the nation in 3-point shooting percentage in 2014 (65-116, .560), finished seventh nationally last season (88-197, .447). Mason has hit five or more "3s" in a game nine times (seven at Duquesne and two as a freshman at Drake). Mason enters his senior season as the second most-accurate 3-point shooter in NCAA history (193-of-392, .492).
• Despite its 12-19 record in 2015, Duquesne was outscored by an average of just 2.9 points per game. Duquesne was 1-4 in games decided by three or fewer points, including a 1-2 mark in Atlantic 10 play.
• In conference play, DU averaged 74.7 ppg. at home and 67.7 on the road. The Dukes outscored A-10 opponents by +1.3 ppg. at home and were outscored by 14.7 ppg. on the road. DU held A-10 opponents to .411 shooting at home. On the road, A-10 foes shot .490.
• Three of DU's A-10 games - all at home - came down to the last possession: a 71-68 win over Saint Joseph's, a 61-60 loss to Rhode Island and a 100-97 OT loss to St. Bonaventure (the Dukes led Rhody by 13 and the Bonnies by 15 in the second half). In addition, DU had the ball down two with under two minutes left in a 70-64 "home" loss to No. 17 (AP) VCU at CONSOL Energy Center on Jan. 17. The Dukes were also tied with UMass with under three minutes left at Mullins Center on Feb. 14.
• The Dukes prepared for the 2015-16 season with a nine-day, three-game trip to Ireland August 4-12. It was the second foreign tour by a DU team (the Dukes played four games in three days in Toronto over Labor Day weekend in 2007).
• DU's five home-and-home Atlantic 10 opponents are unchanged from last season. The Dukes will face Davidson, Dayton, George Washington, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis twice as part of the 18-game Atlantic 10 schedule.
• Duquesne will participate in the eight-team Gulf Coast Showcase Nov. 23-25 at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla. The field includes: Central Michigan, Drake, Milwaukee, Murray State, Pepperdine, Weber State and Western Kentucky. Duquesne will face Pepperdine in the opening round and either Milwaukee or Murray State on day two. The third round opponent is TBD. The Dukes will also face two Atlantic Coast Conference schools (at Georgia Tech and vs. Pitt) and one Big Ten school (Penn State) in non-conference play. The Pitt and Penn State games will both be played at CONSOL Energy Center.
EXHIBITION LEFTOVERS: Notes from Duquesne's 91-62 exhibition win over Urbana on Nov. 10: Jeremiah Jones, L.G. Gill, Darius Lewis, Micah Mason and Derrick Colter started for the Dukes ... all four returning starters scored in double figures, Lewis and Mason with 16, Colter with 15 and Jones with 11 ... Nakye Sanders and Jordan Robinson were the first Dukes off the bench ... 10 players saw action in the first six minutes and nine scored in the first half ... Duquesne hit its first five shots in jumping out to a 14-0 lead before Urbana called a timeout with 16:56 left ... Urbana missed its first nine shots as Duquesne built its lead to 21-1 ... every player in uniform saw action ... the Dukes assisted on 23 of 32 field goals ... Colter led DU with seven assists with just one turnover in 25 minutes ... Lewis, Gill and Sanders led the Dukes with six rebounds each ... DU outrebounded UU 47-29 ... Lewis' 16 points were five more than his regular season career high of 11 he scored last year against UTPA ... Urbana averaged 81.4 ppg. last season ... Duquesne's largest lead was 42 points with 12:19 left ... sophomore TySean Powell did not dress for Duquesne (violation of team rules).
