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 Damian Saunders is averaging 16.5 points and 17.5 rebounds per game for the Dukes. |
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Dukes Off to Cullowhee, NC For Three
Nov. 21, 2009
DUQUESNE (2-0) at O'REILLY AUTO PARTS CBE CLASSIC
Mon.-Wed., Nov. 23-25, 2009 • Ramsey Center (7,826) Cullowhee, N.C.
Nov. 23 • vs. BINGHAMTON (1-2) at 5:00 p.m.
Nov. 24 • vs. ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO at 5:00 p.m.
Nov. 25 • at WESTERN CAROLINA at 7:30 p.m.
DUQUESNE RADIO: KQV-AM (1410) with Ray Goss & George Von Benko
STREAMING AUDIO: redzonemedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
GAMETRACKER: CatamountSports.com
DUKES AT CULLOWHEE, NC: Duquesne, coming off a 52-50 win at Iowa on Nov. 17, heads to Cullowhee, N.C. to continue play in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The Dukes will play three games in three days beginning with a Nov. 23 match-up against Binghamton (5:00 p.m.). DU will face Division II Arkansas-Monticello on Tuesday (5:00 p.m.) before taking on host Western Carolina on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
NEW GUYS: Binghamton (America East), Arkansas-Monticello and Western Carolina (Southern Conference) are all first time opponents for the Dukes.
N.C. HAS NOT BEEN KIND: The state of North Carolina has not been kind to the Duquesne basketball program as the Dukes are 1-13 all time in the Tar Heel State. DU's lone win came in its first visit to North Carolina on Jan. 14, 1937 (53-33 over NC State). Since then, its been 13 losses in a row (including a neutral-site NCAA tournament loss to VMI at Raleigh in 1977). A complete list is on page five.
DUQUESNE LATELY: Duquesne returns four starters from last year's 21-13 NIT team ... the 2009 Dukes defeated six teams that went on to play in either the NCAA tourney or NIT ... DU's 21 wins last season were the most since the 1971 NCAA team went 21-4 ... DU, which has gone 10-19, 17-13 & 21-13 in three seasons under head coach Ron Everhart, is looking for its third consecutive winning campaign ... the last time that happened on the Bluff was from 1968-73 when Red Manning's Dukes finished above .500 six straight times ... Duquesne was coming off a 3-24 season, and hadn't finished above .500 since 1994, when Everhart took over prior in 2006-07 ... juniors Damian Saunders (second team) and Bill Clark (third team) were named preseason All-Atlantic 10 by league coaches and media ... Saunders done it all for the Dukes so far this season ... the 6-7 Connecticut native is averaging 16.5 points, 17.5 rebounds, 5.0 steals, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks through two games ... Duquesne was picked to finish tied for fifth in the A-10 (with Temple) ... DU has been tough after the break, holding its first two opponents to a combined .306 second-half shooting pct. (19-of-62, including 6-of-27 from 3-point).
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NOTES FROM THE IOWA GAME: The win was Duquesne's first-ever in a Big Ten arena ... it was also DU's first win over a Big Ten team since 1973 ... Bill Clark's game winning 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left was ESPN SportsCenter's No. 4 Play of the Day ... Clark was 4-of-12 from the arc ... Damian Saunders had 16 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks and a career high-tying six steals ... Duquesne held Iowa to 31.6 percent shooting ... the Hawkeyes were 6-of-27 from the 3-point arc ... Duquesne was whistled for 20 fouls to 12 for Iowa ... the Hawkeyes went 8-of-15 from the line, DU was 2-of-9 ... the Dukes led for all but 5:18, including all but 1:35 of the second half ... it was the first time in 95 games under Ron Everhart that DU did not score a bench point ... Duquesne is now 2-19 when scoring fewer than 70 points under Everhart ... the 52 points were DU's fourth-lowest total in the Everhart Era ... the Dukes, who had one field goal from the 11:44 to 1:38 mark of the second half, scored 19 points in the second 20 minutes.
RESTING COMFORTABLY: Duquesne sophomore guard/forward Melquan Bolding - one of four returning starters - underwent successful surgery to place a pin in his fractured right wrist on Nov. 17. The 6-3 sophomore was injured on a hard foul four minutes into Duquesne's season-opening 85-62 win over Nicholls State on Nov. 13. Bolding went on to score a game-high 25 points, one shy of his career high, in 36 minutes. An X-ray done the following day revealed the break. Bolding, who is right-handed, was evaluated by a hand and wrist specialist on Monday the 16th and had surgery on Tuesday. He is expected to be sidelined 4-6 weeks.
QUICK STARTS: Duquesne has opened with at least four consecutive wins in each of the past two seasons (4-0 last year and 6-0 in 2007-08). The 2007-08 start was the school's best in 28 years. The `08 Dukes went on to post the school's first winning record in 14 years at 17-13. The last time Duquesne opened 4-0 or better in back-to-back seasons was in 1985-86 (5-0) & 1986-87 (4-0). The last time DU put together three consecutive seasons with 4-0 (or better starts) was from 1961 through 1963 (4-0, 7-0 & 5-0).
NEXT UP: Duquesne breaks for Thanksgiving before hosting Radford on Sunday, Nov. 29 at the Palumbo Center. Radford returns four starters, including NBA prospect 6-10, 260-pound center Artsiom Parakhouski, from last year's 21-12 NCAA Tournament team.
