Nov. 18, 2015
QUICK NOTES
• Duquesne, coming off a 95-75 win over New Orleans on Monday, hosts Penn State on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. at CONSOL Energy Center in its most challenging game of the young season. The Dukes, who have scored 96 and 95 points in their first two games, will be facing a PSU team that has given up an average of 56.0 ppg. in wins over VMI (62-50) and DePaul (68-62 on Tuesday). This is the first road game for the Nittany Lions. It is the first of two games at CONSOL Energy Center (vs. Pitt on Dec. 4) this season for Duquesne.
• DU is 2-2 in non-conference home games at CONSOL Energy Center (6th season), where the Dukes have split with both Penn State and West Virginia (Jim Ferry is 1-1 in those games with a 60-56 win over WVU on Dec. 11, 2012 and a 68-59 loss to Penn State on Dec. 11, 2013).
• The Dukes return four starters - senior Gs Derrick Colter & Micah Mason, senior F Jeremiah Jones and junior C Darius Lewis - from last year's 12-19 team (6-12 in the A-10/11th place). Duquesne was picked to finish 11th in the 2015-16 Atlantic 10 annual preseason poll of coaches and media. Colter, Mason and Lewis had 15 points each in the season-opening win over Seton Hill. Mason scored a career-high 28 and Colter added 15 in the win over New Orleans on Monday.
•The Dukes are in their 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.
THE SERIES VS. PENN STATE
Series Record: Penn State leads 27-19
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 13-8
At State College, Pa.: Penn State leads 17-4
Neutral Site: Tied 2-2
Eastern 8/A-10: Tied 12-12
Eastern 8/A-10 Tournament: Duquesne led 2-1
• This is the 47th game in a series that dates to Feb. 9, 1924 ... it is also the fourth game of a four-game home-and-home series ... the two resumed the long-time series with home-and-home meetings in 2010-11 and 2011-12 ... PSU has won the first three of the current series.
• Penn State leads the series 27-19 ... in games played at Pittsburgh, Duquesne leads 13-8 ... Penn State, which won eight of the last nine Atlantic 10 meetings, has won 16 of the past 19 meetings overall.
• Duquesne's latest series win came on Dec. 10, 2011, by a 66-59 score at CONSOL Energy Center ... PSU has not played at DU's on-campus arena - A.J. Palumbo Center - since Nov. 30, 1994.
• Penn State went 18-16 last season, including a 14-2 record in non-conference play ... PSU returns two starters in sophomore guard Shep Garner (9.2, 59 3-pointers last year) and senior forward Brandon Taylor (9.1, 54 3-pointers last year) ... Garner and Taylor were responsible for half of PSU's 3-point attempts last season ... added a pair of ESPN100, 4-star recruits in 6-4 guard Josh Reaves and 6-8 center Mike Watkins.
• This will be DU head coach Jim Ferry's eighth meeting with Penn State (0-7) ... the first four came while Ferry was at LIU Brooklyn ... Ferry is 0-4 vs. fourth-year PSU coach Patrick Chambers, including a 64-62 loss at PSU last year ... Ferry is 0-11 vs. the Big 10 ... he has never faced a Big Ten team in his home on-campus arena (the lone `home' game was a 68-59 loss to Penn State at CONSOL on Dec. 11, 2013.
• DU and PSU shared membership in the Eastern 8 (precursor to the Atlantic 10) for 12 seasons (1977-79 & 1983-91).
PENN STATE'S LAST GAME: From PSU's 68-62 win over DePaul on Tuesday ... Brandon Taylor led four Nittany Lions in double figures with 22 points in a 68-62 win at Bryce Jordan Center ... Shep Garner had 16 and Payton Banks and Josh Reaves added 10 each for PSU ... Penn State got eight points from its bench ... the Nittany Lions held DePaul to .377 shooting, including 2-of-11 from the 3-point arc ... Garner (3-6) and Taylor (4-7) were a combined 7-of-13 from 3-point, the rest of the Nittany Lions were 3-of-8 ... Taylor scored 19 of his 22 in the second half and Garner scored 7 of his 16 in the final two minutes ... there was just one tie and no lead changes in the game ... PSU was outrebounded 39-30.
TRENDING
• Duquesne has scored 96 and 95 points on .578 shooting in its first two games. DU is 20-of-49 (.408) from the 3-point arc over that span.
• Junior center Darius Lewis, who averaged 3.1 rebounds per game last season, has pulled down 11 boards in each of DU's first two games ... Lewis had nine points (including three dunks) and eight rebounds in 14 minutes last year at Penn State.
• Guard Micah Mason was 10-0f-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point in scoring a career-high 28 points in 34 minutes on Monday night vs. New Orleans. It was his 10th career game with five or more 3-pointers.
• DU tied Jim Ferry Era highs for first half points (54), first half margin (+27, 54-27) and 3-pointers made (14-29) in Monday's win ove New Orleans.
• The Dukes have limited opponents to .392 shooting.
• Six Dukes: Micah Mason, Derrick Colter, L.G. Gill, Jeremiah Jones, Darius Lewis and Eric James, have posted double-digit scoring games this season.
