G8 | LONGWOOD (7-3) at DUQUESNE (5-2)  
Sun., Dec. 9, 2018 • 1:00 pm ET • Pittsburgh, Pa. • A.J. Palumbo Center (4,390)

VIDEO: ESPN+ with Tim Benz (pxp) & Ellis Cannon (analyst)
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
IN-GAME STATS: StatBroadcast http://duqstats.com
DUQUESNE GAME NOTES: Click here

Duquesne (5-2), which defeated one of the top scoring teams in the nation in Marshall (87.0 ppg.), 93-82, on Wednesday, continues a stretch of nine consecutive games within city limits when it hosts Longwood (7-3)  - one of the nation's stingiest teams - on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 1:00 p.m. at the Palumbo Center (ESPN+). DU had its best shooting day since March of 2016 (.579) in scoring a season high 93 versus the Thundering Herd. In Longwood, Duquesne will be facing a team that is limiting opponents to 60.1 points on .374 shooting per game. Longwood is the second Big South Conference opponent for Duquesne on the young season. DU defeated Big South preseason favorite Radford, 69-64, in a neutral-site game at Akron, Ohio on Nov. 17. Duquesne, which has won five in a row at home, is 12-2 under Keith Dambrot in nonconference home games.

TRENDING

• Duquesne shot a season-best .579 and scored a season-high 93 points in Wednesday's win over Marshall. DU's 33 field goals tied the Dambrot Era high.
• First-year Akron transfer Michael Hughes, who is 24-of-30 (.800) from the field in his past three games (19.7 ppg. over that span) ranked seventh nationally in FG% (.709 overall) through Wednesday's games. Hughes, who has scored in double digits in DU's past five games, has scored 19, 20 & 20 points in his past three. The 20 points are a career high.
• Six players have either led or tied for the team lead in scoring in DU's first seven games.
• The Dukes, led by freshman Sincere Carry's 42 dishes, are averaging 15.4 assists per game. DU averaged 11.9 apg. last season. Carry had 19 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals in 33 turnover-free minutes vs. Marshall.
• Mike Lewis II, who entered the Marshall game averaging 5.7 ppg., tied his season high with 15 points in 19 minutes. Lewis II was 5-of-6 from the field.
• DU is 13-3 under Keith Dambrot when holding opponents under 70 points. The Dukes are also 14-2 when they are the first to reach the 70-point mark.
• Duquesne is 19-1 under Dambrot when leading with five minutes left.
• DU's 9.29 steals per game average is the most by a Dukes' team since Ron Everhart's 2011 squad - led by freshman guard T.J. McConnell - led the nation with 9.91 spg.

SERIES QUICK NOTES

• Longwood, a member of the Big South Conference, is located in Farmville, Va.
• This is the first meeting between the Dukes and Lancers.
• Duquesne is 10-2 all-time - including a 6-1 mark at home -  against the schools that comprise the current Big South Conference. The Dukes have won seven in a row over Big South schools, including a 69-64 win over Radford in a game played at Akron, Ohio on Nov. 17.
• Longwood (7-3), in its first season under head coach Griff Aldrich, has already tied last year's win total (7-26).
• Aldrich spent the past two seasons under Ryan Odom at UMBC where he helped the Retrievers to back-to-back 20-win seasons.
• The Lancers opened with four-straight wins, including a 63-59 victory over Atlantic 10 member Richmond at UR's Robins Center. Longwood also has a road win at Maryland Eastern Shore. Two of the Lancers losses (42-39 at Charlotte and 64-62 vs. Denver) came down to the final possession.
• Longwood enters the Duquesne game as the top defensive team in the Big South, limiting opponents to 60.1 points per game on .374 shooting. The Lancers, who focus on preventing layups and forcing contested 3-pointers, have allowed four dunks this season.
• Only two teams, Delaware State (in an 89-73 loss) and Seattle (in a 70-50 win) have scored 70 or more against Longwood this season.
• Six-five senior guard Isaiah Walton (19.2, 8.0), who led the Lancers in scoring in each of their first five games (4-1), has missed the last five (LU is 3-2 without him).
• The Lancers are coming off a 68-65 overtime home win over Frostburg State on Friday night. Shabooty Phillips (12.4, 5.7), who has either led or tied for the team lead in scoring in the last three games, tied Sean Flood (7.2, 3.3) for team high with 13 points.

NOTING THE DUKES

• Duquesne's three Gotham Classic wins came over opponents who averaged 20.7 wins last season: William & Mary (19-12), UIC (20-16, CIT) & Radford (23-13, NCAA). The Dukes led at Notre Dame (21-15, NIT last year) 52-51 with 6:31 left in their fourth Gotham Classic game.
• Second-year head coach Keith Dambrot's 16 wins in 2017-18 were the most by a DU first-year coach since Dudey Moore went 17-5 in 1948-49. Moore coached Keith's father, Sid, from 1952-54 during his highly-successful 10 seasons on the Bluff. There were 10 coaches between Moore and Dambrot. Dambrot engineered the seventh-best single-season improvement in school history in 2018 (+6.0, from 10-22 in 2016-17 to 16-16 last year).
• Duquesne has a roster that features 11 newcomers, including four eligible Division I transfers. The 11 newcomers are tied for third-most of any NCAA Division I program. DU is ranked 343 of 353 schools in KenPom's listing of "most experienced" college teams.
• The Dukes have seven freshmen and five sophomores on the 2018-19 roster. Of the 11 newcomers, 10 have seen action so far this season.
• Forward Kellon Taylor, a two-sport athlete who plays receiver for DU's FCS football team, was in uniform for the first time for the Marshall game. Taylor caught a team-high five passes for a team-best 97 yards in the Dukes' second round FCS Playoff loss at South Dakota State Dec. 1. It was the first time DU advanced to the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Taylor, who finished second on the team with 44 catches for 576 yards and two TDs, played in 29 consecutive basketball games last season after the joining the team for the Nov. 19 game vs. Robert Morris.
• Freshman point guard Sincere Carry had an eye-opening debut, with seven points and nine assists (without a turnover) vs. William & Mary. He followed that with 32 points and eight more assists vs. UIC. The nine assists tied the sixth-most by a DU freshman, while the 32 points tied the second-highest total by a Dukes freshman (see p.11). Carry ranked 32nd nationally in assists per game (6.0) and 14th in steals per game (2.57) through Wednesday.
• Six-ten freshman forward Austin Rotroff was named A-10 co-Rookie of the Week on Nov. 12 following his opening game 17-point, seven-rebound outing vs. William & Mary. Rotroff went 6-of-7 from the field (3-of-3 from 3-point) vs. the Tribe.
• Sophomore Eric Williams Jr., who was named second team preseason All-Atlantic 10, ranks second on the ream in scoring (13.4) and first in rebounding (7.3). The A-10 All-Rookie Team pick set DU single-game freshman records for points (34 vs. George Mason) and rebounds (16 vs. Stetson) in a game last season. He also broke the school record for 3-pointers in a game with nine vs. George Mason. Williams Jr. has two double-doubles this season.
• DU has added four Division I transfers, all of whom practiced with the team while sitting out in 2017-18: 5-8 So. G Tavian Dunn-Martin (Akron), 6-4 So. G Frankie Hughes (Missouri), 6-8 So. C Michael Hughes (Akron) and 6-5 So. F Marcus Weathers (Miami, Ohio). Michael Hughes and Weathers have started all five games, while Frankie Hughes and Dunn-Martin have seen significant action in all five games off the bench.
• Dambrot and his staff assembled the tallest recruiting class in school history. The seven-man group includes 6-11 Gavin Bizeau (Plainfield, Ind.), 6-11 Dylan Swingle (Chillicothe, Ohio), 6-10 Austin Rotroff (Wauseon, Ohio), 6-9 Amari Kelly (Long Island, N.Y.), 6-3 Lamar Norman Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 6-2 Brandon Wade (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and 6-1 Sincere Carry (Solon, Ohio). An eighth recruit - 6-11 James Ellis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) - is sitting out in 2018-19. Duquesne had never had a recruiting class with more than two players 6-9 or taller.
• Duquesne was picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll of conference coaches and media released on October 18. Eric Williams Jr. was named preseason second team All-A-10. He is the first Duke since Damian Saunders (2010-11) to earn preseason second team all-conference honors.
• Junior guard Mike Lewis II needs 39 points to become Duquesne's 39th 1,000-point scorer. Lewis II scored 452 points as a freshman and added 460 last season. He has scored in double digits in 53 of 71 career games.