Dec. 31, 2015
QUICK NOTES
• Duquesne (10-3), whose 10-3 start is its best since 2007-08, opens Atlantic 10 Conference play against preseason favorite Dayton (10-2) on Jan. 2 at 2:30 p.m. at Palumbo Center. The game will be televised nationally by NBCSN with Ryan Burr & John Adams on the call.
• The Dukes, who saw a four-game win streak snapped at Georgia Tech (67-73) on Tuesday, are the second team in school history to enter A-10 play with 10 wins (2007-08 was the other).
• DU's 7-0 home record is the program's best since 1979-80. The last DU team to open 8-0 at home was the 1972-73 team which won its first 10 home games. This is the second road game for Dayton, which defeated Vanderbilt, 72-67, in Nashville on Dec. 9.
• This will be Duquesne's second game without senior forward Jeremiah Jones (season-ending knee injury vs. Robert Morris on Dec. 19). Jones had played in every game of his DU career (103) with 95 starts. It will be Dayton's second game with senior forward Dyshawn Pierre (12.7, 8.1 last year), who missed the first semester due to a University suspension. Pierre played 33 minutes in Dayton's 85-81 OT win over Arkansas on Wednesday.
NEXT UP: Duquesne heads to North Carolina for a Jan. 6 game at Davidson (7:00 p.m. on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network/WCCB-TV in Davidson viewing area).
THE SERIES
Series Record: Dayton leads 48-23
At Pittsburgh: Dayton leads 18-14
A-10 Regular Season: Dayton leads 26-9
Past 10 Games: Dayton leads 6-4
Jim Ferry vs. Dayton: 1-3
SERIES QUICK NOTES
• This is the 72nd meeting in a series that dates to Jan. 5, 1953 ... Dayton leads 48-23, including a 26-9 lead in Atlantic 10 regular season games and a 18-14 advantage in games played at Pittsburgh.
• Duquesne, which lost 16 in a row to Dayton from 1997 through 2004, is 8-10 against the Flyers in the past 18 games.
• Last year, the two split home wins, with Dayton winning by 26 at UD Arena (81-55 on Jan. 3) and Duquesne winning by 10 at CONSOL Energy Center (83-73 on Feb. 21).
• The two met just once in 2012-13 & 2013-14 (both Dayton wins), before resuming home-and-home games last year ... the two split the season series in the three seasons prior to 2012-13 ... this will be UD's first game at Palumbo Center since 2012 (the past two in Pittsburgh were played at CONSOL Energy Center).
ON THE FLYERS: Dayton, the preseason pick to finish 1st in the A-10, is 1-0 on the road (a 72-67 win at Vanderbilt on Dec. 9) ... UD, led by first-year James Madison transfer Charles Cooke (14.7 ppg.), is coming off an 85-81 OT home win over Arkansas on Wednesday in which five players logged 33 or more minutes ... Dayton is listed among "others receiving votes" in this week's AP and Coaches polls.
OHIO TIES: The Dukes have three players from Ohio - the most of any state - on the 2015-16 roster. Two of the Ohio natives are sophomores TySean Powell (Twinsburg) and Eric James (Westerville). DU's third Ohio native is fourth-year senior walk-on Nick Foschia (Northfield Center). Assistant coach John Rhodes also has ties to the Buckeye State. Rhodes, who played at Ohio U., was an assistant at his alma mater from 1999-08 and also served as head coach at Ohio Northern from 2009-12.
LEFTOVERS FROM GEORGIA TECH: Leftovers from Duquesne's 73-67 loss at Georgia Tech on Dec. 29: the Dukes fell victim to a six-minute scoreless streak that saw Georgia Tech turn a two-point deficit into a 10-point lead with 3:09 left ... there were seven ties and 11 lead changes before the first of back-to-back 3-pointers by GT's Adam Smith gave the Yellow Jackets the lead for good with 7:20 remaining ... Duquesne missed five shots and a pair of free throws in going without a point from the 8:25 to 2:25 mark ... Micah Mason went 5-of-10 from the arc in scoring a team-high 17 points for the Dukes ... Mason had 14 at the half ... Eric James, making his first career start in place of injured starter Jeremiah Jones, had 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds ... L.G. Gill (3-of-13) and Derrick Colter (4-of-17) went a combined 7-of-30 from the field, including 1-of-11 from 3-point ... Colter, who had hit at least one 3-pointer in 14 consecutive games, was 0-of-5 from the arc in finishing with nine points ... it was his first game under 13 points this season ... DU shot just 35.3 percent in being outscored 38-31 in the second half ... the Dukes. who had three more field goals than the Yellow Jackets (27-24), outscored Tech 34-24 in the paint and 23-9 in fast break points ... DU went 4-of-10 from the foul line, while GT finished 17-of-25 ... Duquesne's largest lead was nine points (26-17) with 9:20 left in the first half ... Georgia Tech's largest lead was 12 (72-60) with 43 seconds left ... Duquesne led for a total of 25:15 and Tech for 11:32 of the game ... DU's 67 points tied its season low.
TRENDING
• Duquesne is 19-20 all-time in conference openers, including a 13-7 record when opening league play at home. DU is 1-2 in A-10 openers under Jim Ferry (1-0 at home)
• This is Duquesne's second game without injured co-captain Jeremiah Jones (9.6, 3.8) who suffered a torn ACL (right knee) in the Dec. 19 win over Robert Morris. Jones had played in every game in his DU career (103) with 84-straight starts. Eric James posted an 11-11 double-double in his first career start in place of Jones at Georgia Tech. James is averaging 12.0 points (50% from the field) and 9.5 rebounds in his past two games.
• Micah Mason, who will be playing his 100th career game when he takes the floor vs. Dayton, went 5-of-10 from the 3-point arc in scoring a team-high 17 points at Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
• The Dukes have outrebounded nine of 13 opponents and are 9-0 in those games.
• DU has tied the school record for pre-New Year's Day wins set in 1953-54 (10-0).
• Derrick Colter took part in Dec. 17 commencement ceremonies. Colter finished his undergrad degree in criminal justice in 3 1/2 years.
