December 20, 2008 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH, PA – Aaron Jackson scored 16 points and freshman Melquan Bolding had a career-high 14 as Duquesne pulled away in the second half to beat Rice, 80-64 on Saturday.

Damian Saunders added 13 points, freshman Eric Evans had 11 and Jason Duty 10 for the Dukes (6-4), who had lost their previous two and four of five while playing a rugged schedule that includes Pittsburgh, Duke and West Virginia.

The Dukes shot 53.2 percent (25-of-47) and their pressure defense bothered the Owls (4-6), who trailed by six at the half but never got going in the second half. Rice, led by Lucas Kuipers’ 16 points, shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49).

Duquesne was coming off a 26-point home court loss to Old Dominion.

Suleiman Braimoh scored 12 and Cory Pflieger had 11 for Rice, which had won two in a row. The Owls play No. 4 Oklahoma at home Monday night.

December 17, 2008 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH, PA – Gerald Lee led Old Dominion’s balanced offense with 15 points and the Monarchs turned a pivotal 17-3 run early in the second half into an 86-60 rout of Duquesne on Wednesday night.

Darius James scored 14, Keyon Carter and Ben Finney had 12 each and Kent Bazemore had 10 for the Monarchs (6-3), who shot 70.8 percent (17-of-24) while outscoring the Dukes 44-24 in the second half. Old Dominion shot 56.9 percent overall.

The Monarchs, improving to 3-0 against Atlantic 10 Conference teams, trailed 13-4 in the opening three minutes before solving Duquesne’s pressure and going on a 9-0 run to tie it. An 8-0 run later in the half made it 39-31, and Duquesne (5-4) never got any closer than two points early in the second half.

Old Dominion led 46-44 before holding Duquesne to Bill Clark’s 3-pointer over a nearly seven-minute stretch in which it opened a 63-47 lead.

Freshman point guard Eric Evans was Duquesne’s only double figure scorer with 18 points. The Dukes lost their fourth in five games, with the previous three losses coming against Duke, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

November 11, 2008 | AP Press

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Behind double-doubles from seniors Chris Lowe and Tony Gaffney, the Minutemen kicked off a new era of UMass men’s basketball with a 90-71 win over Arkansas-Monticello in Derek Kellogg’s head coaching debut on Tuesday evening. Lowe (18 points, 11 assists) finished just four assists shy of tying the school-record of 15 while Gaffney’s double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds) was the first of his collegiate career. The final three minutes of the first half proved to be the difference as the Minutemen erased a two-point deficit with a 15-4 run to take a nine-point advantage heading into the locker room. With the win, the Minutemen advance to face the winner of California (Pa.) and host Southern Illinois in the regional final of the 2K Sports Classic on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, with a trip to Madison Square Garden on the line.

Junior Ricky Harris avenged a slow start to pour in 22 points, two rebounds, and three steals. He finished 7-of-19 from the floor and 5-of-9 from behind the three-point arc despite the NCAA moving back the three point line a foot this year.

Ricky, what are your thoughts on the 3pt line being pushed back a foot this year?

“I don’t think it changes things that much,” UMass guard Ricky Harris said. “If I’m open, I still have the confidence. It doesn’t change the shot selection.

“It wasn’t like our toes were always on the line when we shot them last year,” said Harris, who scored 22 points and went 5-of-9 from 3-point range.

For the game, the Minutemen shot 46% (31-67) and 44% (12-27) from three-point range. Rebounds were even at 41-41, a number coming on the offensive end (18 for UMass and 19 for Arkansas-Monticello).

After surviving a first-half scare, the Minutemen came out strong out of the locker room to seal the victory in the second. Arkansas-Monticello wouldn’t go away, pulling back within 11 at 67-56. Freshman David Gibbs responded with a three-pointer, the first collegiate points of his career, to make it 70-56.

Gaffney’s alley-oop from freshman Tyrell Lynch was icing on the cake, making it 83-64 with three minutes remaining in the second half. The Minutemen would go on to open up two 21-point leads, their largest leads of the game, at 88-67 and 90-69.

UMass controlled play early in the first half, taking an 11-point advantage at 14-3 after senior Luke Bonner’s three-pointer at the 16:06 mark. Arkansas-Monticello hung tough, eventually taking a 33-31 advantage, but the Minutemen answered with a 13-0 run (and 15-4 to end the half), for the 47-38 halftime lead.

The Minutemen now look ahead to a date with either Southern Illinois or California (Pa.) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. The winner of the Southern Illinois region faces the winner of the Duke region in the 2K Sports Classic Semifinals held next Thursday, Nov. 20, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

November 10, 2008 | AP Press

The college basketball season got underway with games in the Durham regional of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.#5 Duke defeated Presbyterian, 80-49, as Kyle Singler posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He led four Blue Devils in double-figures. In the first game, Georgia Southern beat Houston, 65-63.

Massachusetts, Michigan and Southern Illinois will begin play tonight.   #4 UCLA begins their regional on Wednesday. Regional games take place between November 10-13 with the four winners advancing to the Championship Rounds, November 20 & 21, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

ESPN will televise a total of 10 games of the tournament, including the Championship Round doubleheaders on November 20th & 21st.

The inclusion of Division II teams in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer is a result of recent NCAA legislation increasing the number of games that teams are allowed to play and the increased number of early season tournaments. Additionally, there is an interesting history dating back to 1982 when NAIA Chaminade upset the nation’s top ranked team, Virginia, in a season opening tournament. Currently, these events can provide opportunities for teams to gain exposure which would not otherwise exist by giving them the chance to represent their institution on a national stage and give their student-athletes a competitive experience unlike the rest of their schedule.

2K Sports will be the title sponsor of the event for the fourth consecutive year. 2K Sports develops and publishes the popular and highly acclaimed 2K series of sports video games including the “NBA 2K” series – the best selling and best rated next-generation basketball videogame on the market. 2K Sports is known for delivering the most innovative and realistic sports simulation gaming experience to fans every year.

The Coaches vs. Cancer program, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), exists to leverage the strength, community leadership and celebrity of the nation’s basketball coaches, to raise awareness and reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer. Since 1996, the event has raised more than $4 million for the benefit of Coaches vs. Cancer.

The 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer is produced by The Gazelle Group in Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, the Legends Classic and the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.