G9 | DUQUESNE (3-5) at MARSHALL (4-3)   
Sat., Dec. 4, 2021 • 7:00 pm ET • Huntington, W.Va. • Cam Henderson Center (9,048)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Mark Martin
RADIO: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Tad Maurey

Duquesne (3-5), which saw its two-game win streak snapped in a 78-70 loss to Bowling Green on Wednesday, heads to Huntington, W.Va. to face Marshall (4-3) on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

This is the first true road game for the Dukes, who went 1-2 in neutral-site games at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, V.I. Nov. 19-22.

Marshall, which is coming off back-to-back road losses at Indiana (79-90) and Akron (86-88), is 4-1 at home.

This is just the second non-conference road game for the Dukes under Dambrot, with the last coming on Nov. 20, 2018 at Notre Dame (L, 56-67) in the Gotham Classic.

The Dukes, who averaged 62.5 ppg. in their first four games, have averaged 78.0 ppg. in their last four. DU will need the extra offense as it will be facing NCAA's 30th ranked scoring team in the Thundering Herd who averaging 82.7 ppg.

The Marshall game is the first of back-to-back road games for the Dukes, who will play at DePaul on Tuesday. This is the first time since December of 2014 (at Penn State and at Robert Morris) that DU is playing two straight non-conference road games.   

TRENDING

• First-year Mercer transfer Leon Ayers III was named A-10 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 23.0 ppg., 6.5 rpg. and 2.0 spg. (56% FG) in wins over Bradley and American. Ayers III, who has scored 23, 23 & 20 points in his past three games, is bidding to become the first Duke since Micah Mason (six in a row in 2016) to score 20 or more in four-straight games.
• Freshman guard Primo Spears was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week on Nov. 15 after averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in DU's first two games. Spears  leads the Dukes with 23 assists.
• First-year TCU transfer Kevin Easley Jr. has scored in double digits in seven of DU's first eight games. Easley Jr. leads the Dukes with a 13.5 ppg. scoring average and 13 3-pointers (.448).
• First-year Indiana State transfer Tre Williams, who led the Missouri Valley Conference in blocks last year (37), leads the Dukes with 20 rejections. The 6-7 F/C blocked seven shots vs. Colorado on Nov. 20.
• Williams, who went 3-of-10 from the 3-point arc in 55 games at ISU, is 4-of-21 from the arc through eight games at DU.
• Freshman guard Jackie Johnson III, who had six points in DU's first two games, scored 27 off the bench vs. Weber State on Nov. 15. It was the most points off the bench by a Duke since Jordan Stevens had 27 at Abilene Christian on Nov. 22, 2014. Johnson III is shooting .500 (11-22) from the 3-point arc.
• DU, which did not have a turnover in the second half of Sunday's win over American, finished with eight turnovers vs. Bowling Green. The Dukes have four single-digit turnover games this season.
• Duquesne led for 69:43 of a possible 85 minutes in its past two losses. DU led for 32:45 vs. Bowling Green on Wednesday, and led for 36:58 (never trailing in regulation) of its 84-76 OT loss to Colorado at the Paradise Jam.
• According to KenPom.com Duquesne ranks 353rd of 358 Division I teams in the "experience" category (thru Dec. 1).

DUKES AND THUNDERING HERD
Series Record:  Duquesne leads 4-2
At Pittsburgh  Duquesne leads 3-0
At Huntington, W.Va.:  Marshall leads 1-0
Neutral Site:  Duquesne Tied 1-1
Dambrot vs.Marshall:  8-1 (7-0 at Akron, 1-1 at Duquesne)

• Duquesne leads the series 4-2, with Marshall winning the lone meeting in Huntington, W.Va. (78-75 on Jan. 23, 1974) ... the two have split the last two games with DU winning 93-82 at the Palumbo Center on Dec. 5, 2018 and Marshall taking an 83-61 decision at the Cleveland Classic at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Dec. 29, 2019.
• Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot is 8-1 all time against Marshall (7-0 at Akron and 1-1 at Duquesne).
• The Herd is in its eighth season under head coach Dan D'Antoni who won 11, 17, 20, 25 & 23 games in his first five years ... he is the first Marshall coach to post three-straight 20-win seasons since Cam Henderson in 1946, 1947 and 1948 ... Marshall was picked to finish 4th of 14 teams in the Conference USA preseason poll.
• Marshall is led by 6-5 senior guard Taevion Kinsey, a 2020-21 First Team All-Conference USA pick .... the Columbus, Ohio native, who is averaging over 15 points per game for his career, enters the DU game with 1,492 points in 98 career games. He is coming off a 30-point outing in Wedneday's 88-86 loss at Akron.
• Six-eight second-year freshman Obinna Anochili-Killen is tied for the national lead at 4.71 blocks/g. ... the Lagos, Nigeria native had 10 blocks vs. Jackson State on Nov. 21 and followed that with eight more in a win over Louisiana ... RS-soph. guard Andrew Taylor, who had seven steals vs. Louisiana, ranks second nationally in steals per game at 3.14.

LAST GAME
Bowling Green 78, Duquesne 70
Dec. 1, 2021 • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse • Pittsburgh, Pa.

Game 8 Recap

• Bowling Green outscored Duquesne 12-0 over the final 2:47 to erase a 70-66 deficit and snap the Dukes' two-game win streak.
• Leon Ayers III led three DU players in double digits with a game-high 20 points. Kevin Easley Jr. (18 points) and Tre Williams (12 points) were the other double-digit scorers. Easley Jr. and Williams led the Dukes with eight rebounds each.
• DU, which missed five 3-point attempts in the final 39 seconds, finished 9-of-26 from the arc. BGSU went 9-of-17 (.529) from 3-point.
• The Dukes, who led 38-32 at intermission, shot .313 in the second half and .371 for the game. BGSU shot .406 for the game.
• Duquesne's largest lead was 11 at 25-14 with 9:36 left in the first half ... Bowling Green's largest lead was the final margin ... there were two ties and 10 lead changes before Samari Curtis' 3-pointer gave BGSU the lead for good at 72-70 with 58 seconds left ... Bowling Green led for 5:36 ... Duquesne led for 32:45.
• It was only the sixth loss in 50 games for the Dukes when DU reaches the 70-point mark first.