G14 | DUQUESNE (9-4) at DAVIDSON (9-4)
Sat., Jan. 5, 2019 • 6:15 pm ET • Davidson, N.C. • Belk Arena (4,300)

TELEVISION: NBCSN with Rick Allen (pxp) & David Kaplan (analyst)
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)
IN-GAME STATS: Sidearm
DUQUESNE GAME NOTES: Click here

Duquesne (9-4), opens Atlantic 10 play on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Davidson (9-4). The game, set for a 6:15 p.m. tip, will be televised nationally by NBCSN. This is just the second road game for the Dukes, who have not left Pittsburgh since their Nov. 20 game at Notre Dame. Davidson, picked to finish third in the A-10 preseason poll, is 6-0 at home. Duquesne, the preseason pick to finish 11th in the conference, is 21-21 all-time in league openers (including the 1992-93 season in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). The Dukes are 7-13 when opening conference play on the road. Only two members of the current roster (sophomore Eric Williams Jr. and junior Kellon Taylor) have played in an Atlantic 10 game. Taylor is the only Duquesne player who has appeared in a game at Davidson's Belk Arena.

TRENDING

• Duquesne has erased double-digit deficits in three of its wins: -18 vs. Longwood, -14 vs. UIC and -12 vs. Eastern Kentucky. DU trailed by double digits in the second half in all three games (see below).
• Eight players have either led or tied for the team lead in scoring this season.
• Freshman guard Sincere Carry ranked first nationally among freshmen in steals per game (3.15) and sixth among freshmen in assists per game (5.92) through Jan. 1.
• Sophomore Eric Williams Jr., who leads the Dukes in scoring (13.8) and rebounding (7.5), has topped the 20-point mark four times, including three times in DU's past six games.
• First-year Akron transfer Michael Hughes ranks 13th nationally in field goal percentage (.658). The 6-8 center has scored in double digits in nine of the 10 games he's played, including the past eight in a row.
• DU is 15-3 under Keith Dambrot when holding opponents under 70 points. The Dukes are also 17-2 when they are the first to reach the 70-point mark.
• DU's 9.54 steals per game average, which ranks 12th nationally, is the highest by a Dukes' team since Ron Everhart's 2011 squad - led by freshman guard T.J. McConnell - led the nation at 9.91 spg. DU has posted double-digit steals in each of its past four games: 11 vs. Maine, 13 vs. Penn State, 12 vs. Eastern Kentucky and 10 vs. NJIT. Duquesne posted season-high 15 steals on Nov. 25 vs. UMass Lowell.

COMEBACK KIDS
Duquesne has rallied from double-digit deficits to win three times in 2018-19. The Dukes trailed by 18 vs. Longwood, 14 vs. UIC and 12 vs. Eastern Kentucky. DU faced double-digit second-half deficits in all three games. The Dukes are 4-3 when trailing at the half. Last year DU was 1-10 when down at intermission.:
 

OPPONENT	LARGEST DEFICIT	2ND HALF
UIC	down 14 (51-37) with 16:41, 2nd	down 12 with 3:16 left
Longwood	down 18 (47-29 ) with 0:07, 1st	down 10 with 7:50 left
Eastern Kentucky	down 12 (48-36) with 0:42, 1st	down 10 with 14:56 left

DUKES AND WILDCATS
Series Record:  Davidson leads 6-0
At Pittsburgh:  Davidson leads 3-0
At Davidson:  Davidson leads 3-0
A-10 Regular Season:  Davidson leads 6-0
Dambrot vs. Davidson:  0-1

GAME-BY-GAME

Feb. 7, 2015	A	L	69-95	-26
Mar. 7, 2015	H	L	78-107	-29
Jan. 6, 2016	A	L	66-77	-11
Feb. 6, 2016	H	L	82-93	-11
Jan. 24, 2017	A	L	60-74	-14
Feb. 24, 2018	H	L	60-71	-11

• This is the seventh meeting between Duquesne and fifth-year Atlantic 10 member Davidson. the Wildcats - who were a home-and-home opponent of the Dukes in each of their first two A-10 seasons - swept the season series both seasons. This is the third year the two are meeting just once.
• In the last meeting at Davidson, Jack Gibbs scored 32 points, including 21 in the second half, as the Wildcats held off an inspired Duquesne rally to defeat the Dukes, 74-60, before a sellout crowd at Belk Arena. DU cut a 23-point halftime deficit to six five times in the second half, but could get no closer before a crowd of 5,315 on hand to honor former Davidson standout and two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, for whom the student section was named in a halftime ceremony.
• Last year Kellan Grady scored 30 points and Peyton Aldridge added 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 71-60 Davidson win at Palumbo Center. Eric Williams Jr. (12 points) and Kellon Taylor (0 points in 13 minutes) are the only members of the current roster who saw action for the Dukes. DU, which led by 11 in the first half, trailed by two at halftime.
• Davidson, which is coming off an 82-60 loss at then-No. 14 (AP) North Carolina on Dec. 29, is 6-0 at home. The Wildcats have played their past four games (1-3 over that span) without leading scorer sophomore Kellan Grady (19.4 ppg.). Grady the 2018 A-10 Rookie of the Year and preseason First Team All-A-10 pick, has been sidelined with a knee injury. Four Wildcats are averaging in double figures.

NOTING THE DUKES

• Duquesne's 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. Of the 11 newcomers, 10 have seen action so far this season. The Dukes have seven freshmen and five sophomores on the 2018-19 roster.
• DU is ranked 348 of 353 schools in KenPom's listing of "most experienced" college teams. Only two members of the current roster (sophomore Eric Williams Jr. and junior Kellon Taylor) have played in an Atlantic 10 game.
• 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). All four have seen significant action this season.
• Duquesne's three Gotham Classic wins came over opponents who averaged 20.7 wins last season in 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. Three of DU's nonconference losses came at the hands of Power 5 schools Notre Dame (ACC), Pitt (ACC) and Penn State (Big Ten).
• 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).
• 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. Through Tuesday, Carry ranked fourth nationally - and first among freshmen - in steals per game (3.15) and tied for 30th nationally - 6th among freshmen - in assists per game (5.92).
• Sophomore Eric Williams Jr., who was named second team preseason All-Atlantic 10, leads the team in scoring (13.8) and rebounding (7.5). The 2018 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., who earned A-10 co-Player of the Week honors on Dec. 24, has four double-doubles 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 Dec. 5 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, has seen action in four games since rejoining the team.
• 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.
• Guard Mike Lewis II, who scored 979 points in 76 games (72 starts) at Duquesne (12.9 ppg), announced his plan to transfer on Dec. 27. Lewis II averaged 5.6 ppg. in 12 games this season. He scored in double digits 53 times (twice this season) and topped the 20-point mark 17 times as a Duke.