More on Chuck Cooper
Duquesne (9-10, 2-4), coming off a 65-63 defeat at George Washington on Wednesday, returns home to take on Rhode Island (11-6, 3-2) on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by NBCSN with Rich Lerner and David Kaplan calling the action. Rhode Island has been idle since its 79-77 home win over UMass last Sunday.
This is the eighth annual Chuck Cooper Classic, which honors the legacy of the Duquesne All-American who was the first African-American drafted by an NBA team.
QUICK NOTES
- DU is 7-5 at home this season, including a 1-2 mark in A-10 games. One of the home losses was to Dayton at PPG Paints Arena. Rhode Island is 1-4 on the road, with its lone win coming in conference play at Saint Louis (90-56 on Dec. 30). The Rams are 1-1 in A-10 road games. - Duquesne, which lost over 70 percent of its scoring from last season, has incorporated a number of newcomers into the 2016-17 rotation. DU's top four scorers - all starters - are first-year players: freshman Mike Lewis II (12.9 ppg.), graduate transfer Emile Blackman (11.6 ppg.), freshman Isiaha Mike (10.3 ppg.) and Nebraska transfer sophomore Tarin Smith (9.9 ppg.). None of DU's top eight scorers averaged more than 9.2 minutes per game last year. The Dukes start two sophomores and two freshmen.
- Lewis II, who has scored in double digits in DU's past 13 games, and Mike, who posted a 24-13 double-double vs. Saint Louis on Jan. 11, have combined to earn Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week five times - three for Lewis II and two for Mike. Lewis II is averaging 15.3 ppg, and Mike 10.7 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. in conference play.
SERIES QUICK NOTES
- This is the 57th meeting in a series that dates to Jan. 13, 1966 ... Rhode Island, winner of 18 of the past 24, leads the all-time series 31-25 ... in games at Pittsburgh, Rhody holds a 13-12 lead ... DU has won two of the past five, with both wins coming at Ryan Center.
- In an oddity of sorts, URI has won the past seven meetings at Palumbo Center, while DU has won four of the past nine meetings at Ryan Center ... Duquesne's last home win over Rhode Island was on Jan. 10, 2001 (83-69).
- Nine of the past 10 meetings between the two (seven URI wins) have been determined by eight or fewer points ... the average score of the past 10: Duquesne 72.7, Rhode Island 72.6 (727 points for DU to 726 points for URI).
- URI is in its fifth season under head coach Dan Hurley ... Hurley and current DU head coach Jim Ferry met four times when Hurley was at Wagner (2010-11 & 2011-12) and Ferry was at LIU (2002-03 through 2011-12) ... Ferry's Blackbirds won all four meetings ... Ferry is 5-3 all-time vs. Hurley.
- Rhode Island, which has been idle since its 79-77 home win over UMass on Jan. 15, is 1-4 on the road ... the lone win came at Saint Louis by a 90-56 score on Dec. 30 ... this is the third A-10 road game for the Rams (URI dropped a 67-64 decision at Dayton on Jan. 6) ... URI, which was picked to finish second in the A-10 preseason poll, is led by a pair of preseason Second Team All-A-10 picks in guard E.C. Matthews (15.2 ppg., 35 3-pointers) and forward Hassan Martin (13.8, 6.6, 44 blocks in 12 games).
LAST GAME
George Washington 65, Duquesne 63
- Duquesne, which trailed by 16 in the first half, and by 14 with 16:17 left, rallied to tie it at 56-56 with 4:24 left.
- Rene Castro came off the bench to lead the Dukes with 13 points. Castro led the second-half charge with 11 points over the final 14:22.
- Mike Lewis II and Emile Blackman added 11 points each for DU. The 11 points extended Lewis II's double-digit scoring streak to 13 games. Lewis did see a streak of 12 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer snapped (0-of-4).
- Duquesne, which had two more field goals than GW, finished 4-of-21 from 3-point. The Colonials, who came into the game averaging 7.8 3-pointers per game, went 11-of-25 from the arc.
- Jordan Robinson came off the bench to score seven points and grab a team-high six rebounds in 12 minutes.
- The Dukes held the Colonials to 27 second-half points.
- George Washington never trailed ... the Colonials' largest lead was +16 at 36-20 with 3:15 left in the first half ... there was one tie, at 56-56, with 4:24 left ... GW led for 38:08 ... the game was tied for 1:52.
TRENDING
- Duquesne saw a streak of seven consecutive games with 70 or more points snapped with its season-low 57 points vs. Dayton (the Dukes were 5-2 and averaging 75.7 ppg. over that span). DU followed that with 63 at GW. That's 60.0 ppg. in its past two games.
- Duquesne is 7-of-42 (.167) from the 3-point arc in its past two games.
- Freshman Mike Lewis II (12.9 ppg.), DU's first three-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week since Derrick Colter in 2013, has scored in double digits in DU's past 13 games. The St. Louis, Mo. native is averaging 15.4 ppg. over that span. Lewis II, who went 5-of-21 from 3-point in his first six games, is 27-of-72 (.375) from the arc in his past 13. He is averaging 15.3 ppg. in A-10 play.
- Guard Rene Castro is averaging 10.5 ppg. on .469 shooting off the bench in conference play. He is 9-of-20 from 3-point and 8-of-12 from the line in A-10 games. Castro scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the final 14:22 at GW.
- Junior center Jordan Robinson has come off the bench to lead the team in rebounding in each of the past two games. The 6-8 Canadian has 12 rebounds in 32 minutes over that span.
- Freshman Isiaha Mike has been named A-10 Rookie of the Week twice (Dec. 12 & 26), marking the first time in school history DU has had two multiple Rookies of the Week (Lewis II has been named three times). Mike, who has scored in double digits in six of DU's past nine games, posted his first career double-double (24-13) vs. Saint Louis on Jan. 11. The point and rebound totals were both career highs. Mike is averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in A-10 play.
- DU has held seven teams under 40 percent shooting this season: Loyola, Md. (.365), UT Martin (.348), Cleveland State (.385), Pitt (.333), Jackson State (.355), Colgate (.371) & at Fordham (.388). The Dukes are 6-1 in those games.
NEXT UP
Duquesne heads to Davidson for the first of back-to-back road games on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. (TWC Sports/Davidson area) - please note start time change from 7 pm. The Davidson game begins a stretch of four of five on the road for the Dukes.
