Cleveland State vs Duquesne men preview Tonight, Duquesne and other basketball fans in the Pittsburgh area can get two college games for the price of one. DU's women's team will host James Madison in a "Dukes vs. Dukes" battle beginning at 5:45 pm at the A.J. Palumbo Center on Duquesne's campus. Thirty minutes following that contest, at approximately 8:00 p.m., the men will host Cleveland State coached by Rollie Massimino.
In the first ever meeting with the James Madison Dukes (0-1), Dan Durkin's charges wil be looking to build on Sunday's 64-48 victory over Lehigh which evened their 2002-03 record to 1-1. The Duquesne Dukes are led by junior Candace Futrell (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona) and senior Beth Friday (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Upper St. Clair) , both preseason All-Atlantic 10 selections.
Futrell is averaging 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in DU's first two games. The Altoona, PA native poured in a career-best 34 points on Sunday, besting her previous high of 29 which she tallied in the opening-game loss to Ohio State even though she missed some game-time with a leg injury. Futrell is shooting 51.1 percent from the floor, 43.8 percent from behind the arc and 83.3 percent at the charity stripe.
Friday has continued to perform consistently averaging 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. Beth, who now has 1,036 career points, moved into 12th place all-time at Duquesne passing Maureen Major's 1,035 (1984-87). And the Upper St. Clair High School grad sits in second place among DU's rebounders with 882 boards, just 46 behind the current leader, Kathy Ridilla who secured 928 missed shots during her career (1986-89).
The men's team, led by second-year coach Danny Nee, are also at 1-1 having evened their record with an 86-82 home opener win over West Virginia Monday night. The Dukes were topped by Pitt on Saturday in the opening of the Panthers' Petersen Events Center by an 82-67 score.
Junior center Ron Dokes (South Bend, Ind. / Riley / Lincoln Trail (Ill.) College) led the Dukes to Monday's win with 29 points. Three other Dukes were in double figures: junior swingman Jimmy Tricco (Phoenix, Ariz. / Brophy Jesuit Prep / Gonzaga) with 14, junior forward Elijah Palmer (Marshall, Mo. / Marshall / Kennedy-King (Ill.) College) with 13 and senior Kevin Forney (Philadelphia, Pa. / Philadelphia Christian Academy) with 11 points. Fellow senior Brad Midgley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canevin) had a career high six assists, again providing a significant contribution off the bench. Midgley had scored 13 points in 18 minutes on Saturday including nine straight points in 4-and-a half minutes near the end of the game. Palmer has led the Red and Blue in rebounding, pulling down eight boards in each game.
The Cleveland State Vikings (1-2) feature a Pittsburgh native, redshirt freshman Jack Higgins who prepped at Schenley High School. Coach Massimino is most likely best remembered for his years at the helm at Villanova including the Wildcats upset win in the 1985 NCAA championships.
For those who can't attend, both games are available over the "airwaves". The women's game can be listened to via the internet at www.RedZoneMedia.com while the men's game will be broadcast by KQV-AM (1410) as well as over the internet at www.redzonemedia.com.
