Dec. 18, 2015
QUICK NOTES• Duquesne, off to its best start since 1979-80 at 9-2, hosts cross-town rival Robert Morris (2-9) on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2:00 p.m. The Dukes are coming off an 83-68 win over South Carolina State on Wednesday. Robert Morris snapped a three-game losing streak with a 69-67 home win over Lehigh on Thursday night. The DU/RMU game is the first of of a doubleheader. The Duquesne women (10-1) host No. 25 (AP) St. John's (8-1) at 4:30 p.m.
• The Dukes, who are 6-0 at home, are 45-11 in non-conference games at Palumbo Center since 2007-08. DU is looking to open 7-0 at home for the first time since 1979-80. Robert Morris, which has won the past two meetings at Palumbo Center, is looking for its first road win of 2015-16 (0-7).
• Micah Mason notched his 1,000th career point in Wednesday's win over SC State. Mason, who scored 162 as a freshman at Drake, has 843 in his three seasons at DU (1,005 total). His backcourt mate, fellow senior Derrick Colter, has 1,290 points.
• Duquesne, which has scored 90 or more four times, has scored 70 or more points in all but one game this season (a 67-65 win at Saint Francis U on Dec. 12). DU's 83.7 ppg. early-season scoring average is the school's best since 1970-71.
NEXT UP: Duquesne breaks for Christmas prior to heading to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN3). It will be DU's first road game vs. an ACC opponent since a 116-108 double-overtime first round NIT loss at Virginia Tech on Mar. 18, 2009.
THE SERIES
Series Record: Duquesne leads 15-10
At Palumbo Center: Duquesne leads 7-3
Current Streak: Robert Morris won 5
Duquesne leads the series 15-10 ... this is the 13th consecutive year the two have met ... Robert Morris, under sixth-year head coach Andrew Toole, has won the past five meetings ... RMU had never won more than two in a row in the series prior to Toole's arrival ... the Colonials have held the Dukes under 70 points in all five wins (62.8 ppg.) ... RMU is 87-23 (.791) when holding opponents under 70 points under Toole ... DU has shot .270 from the 3-point arc (20-of-74) in three games vs. RMU under Jim Ferry ... in games played at Palumbo Center, Duquesne leads 7-3 ... Robert Morris has won the past two Palumbo Center meetings, each by four points (64-60 on Dec. 6, 2011 & 67-63 on Dec. 14, 2013) ... Robert Morris entered the 2013 game with a 2-8 record ... RMU's 75-59 win at Sewall Center last year marked the Colonials second-largest margin of victory (+16) in the series.
MORE ON RMU: Robert Morris finished 20-15 last season in winning the Northeast Conference tournament title for the eighth time and earning the conference's NCAA tournament bid ... the Colonials have made seven post-season appearances in the past eight years ... RMU, which went 8-8 on the road in 2015, is 0-7 on the road this year ... the Colonials were picked to finsh second in the NEC preseason poll ... RMU returns preseason All-NEC pick 6-5 senior guard Rodney Pryor (21.6, 7.0) ... Pryor, who scored a game-high 25 points in RMU's 75-59 win over DU last season, has been outstanding in the early season with a 28-point, eight-rebound outing at Penn, 25-10 at Air Force, a 35-12 game vs. Oakland and 27 points at Columbia ... he has scored 20 or more in RMU's past four games (25.5 ppg. over that span).
LEFTOVERS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA STATE: Leftovers from Duquesne's 83-68 win over South Carolina State on Wednesday: Seniors Micah Mason (20 points), Derrick Colter (18) and Jeremiah Jones (16) combined for 54 points, including 10 of DU's 11 3-pointers ... the Dukes, who trailed 39-38 at the half, held SCSU to 40.7 percent shooting while outscoring the Bulldogs 45-29 in the second half ... Jones led the charge, with 13 points after intermission ... the Dukes posted six of their seven steals in the second half ... it was the team's first win after trailing at the half this season ... DU, which shot 50.9 percent, assisted on 19 of 29 field goals ... Colter led the way with seven assists ... Duquesne's largest lead was 18 (81-63) with 1:46 left ... there were three ties and nine lead changes before Mason - who went over the 1,000-point career mark on a 3-pointer with 16:33 left - gave the Dukes the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 15:30 remaining ... the victory upped DU's home record to 6-0 ... it is the program's best home start since 1999-00.
TRENDING
• Duquesne's 9-2 start is its best since 1979-80 (10-2). The Dukes are one win shy of tying the school record for pre-New Year's Day wins set in 1953-54 (10-0).
• DU is 6-0 at home for the first time since 1999-00 (also 6-0).
• Duquesne is 8-0 when leading at the half, 8-0 when leading with 5:00 left, 8-0 when outrebounding its opponent and 7-0 when hitting 10 or more 3-pointers.
• Seniors Micah Mason (20), Derrick Colter (18) & Jeremiah Jones (16) combined for 54 points and 10 of DU's 11 3-pointers on Wed. vs. SC State.
• Guard Derrick Colter took part in Thursday's commencment ceremonies. Colter finished his undergrad degree in criminal justice in 3 1/2 years.
• Seven Dukes: Micah Mason, Derrick Colter, L.G. Gill, Jeremiah Jones, Darius Lewis, Eric James & TySean Powell, have posted double-digit scoring games. Four have scored 20 or more (Colter, Gill, Jones & Mason).
