December 10, 2008 | AP Press

RADFORD, VA — Aaron Jackson scored a career-high 36 points to lead Duquesne to a 94-75 victory over Radford on Wednesday night.

Jackson made 15 of 17 field goals and was 1-for-1 from the free-throw line one week after scoring a season-low six points against No. 3 Pittsburgh.

The Dukes (5-2) went on a 10-0 run midway through the first half to break open a 22-21 game and took a 51-40 lead into halftime.

Radford (3-5) drew within six points at 76-70 with 5:43 left, but Duquesne scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by Jackson.

Damian Saunders added 11 points and Bill Clark had 10 for the Dukes.

Martell McDuffy led the Highlanders with 21 points, while Artsiom Parakhouski had a double-double with 17 points and 20 rebounds — nearly half of Radford’s 43 total rebounds. Kenny Thomas added 14 points and Joey Lynch-Flohr had 12.

December 3, 2008 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH, PA – DeJuan Blair knows more about the rivalry called the City Game than any other Pitt player, so he was a little surprised when the No. 3 Panthers came off sluggish and tentative against the opponent they know better than any outside the Big East Conference.

Sam Young scored 23 points and Blair had 14 points and 17 rebounds, helping Pittsburgh overcome a sluggish start to defeat down-the-street rival Duquesne 78-51 on Wednesday night.

Jermaine Dixon scored 12 points as the Panthers improved to 8-0 for the seventh consecutive season, using runs of 9-0 and 11-2 to begin pulling away after the Dukes (4-2) led 20-19 with seven minutes left in the first half.

“We started off a little slow,” said Blair, who watched both teams while growing up only a few blocks from each school’s campus. “I don’t know why. We had a little bit of a fight, but that made us come out better in the second half.”

The two teams play in the same summer league and compete in informal offseason pickup games, but the once-intense rivalry between schools located two miles apart along Forbes Avenue has cooled off since Pitt moved into the Big East 26 years ago. The Panthers have won eight in a row and 27 of 30 in a series that peaked in interest in the late 1970s, when both belonged to the Eastern Eight.

Blair, a sophomore, won’t be surprised if the rivalry becomes competitive again now that Duquesne, which improved from a three-win team to a 17-win team in only two years, is recruiting at a much higher level.

“It’s a fun rivalry,” Blair said. “I want to get out of here undefeated against them. It’s going to be a good rivalry, a tough matchup, so that means we’ve got to keep working hard if we’re going to get what we want.”

Duquesne, one of the nation’s youngest teams with eight freshmen and one of the smallest in a major conference with only one regular taller than 6-foot-5, has lost consecutive games to current top five teams. Duquesne lost 95-72 to now-No. 4 Duke on Friday.

“Duke comes after you with pressure defense, but Pitt is very intense when the ball leaves somebody’s hand,” Dukes coach Ron Everhart said. “They go to the glass like it’s nobody’s business. They have two different styles, but it wouldn’t surprise me if both teams are in the Final Four.”

Especially when both are currently in the top four.

“We see now what good teams do,” Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson said. “They’re both in the top five, but they do all the little things, they do the extra things, and it’s what we’ve got to start doing.”

Pitt had too much size and depth for the Dukes, who were outrebounded 44-31 as Blair had 10 rebounds on the offensive end. Unable to go inside against the 6-7 Blair and 6-6 Young, Duquesne was constantly forced to try to establish an offense around the perimeter of a Pitt defense that allowed few followup shots or second chances.

Damian Saunders scored 15 points, but the Dukes shot only 36.4 percent (20-of-55), including 7-of-29 (24.1 percent) from 3-point range. They were worse still at the foul line, 4-of-12, and committed 25 turnovers to Pitt’s 18.

Pitt took the lead for good at 21-20 as Blair scored inside to start the 9-0 run.

“In the first half, we played more of their game than our game,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Duquesne trailed 32-26 with 1:48 left before halftime when Everhart drew a technical for arguing a foul call on freshman Melquan Bolding. Levance Fields made all four free throws to push the lead to 10, beginning an 11-2 run that carried into the second half.

After Saunders scored on a followup, Young dunked one-handed off a Dixon lob, Blair scored on a putback and Young drove to the basket for a 49-33 lead that effectively put it out of reach. Levance Fields added 11 assists and two steals.

November 25, 2008 | AP Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Damian Saunders scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Duquesne past South Carolina-Upstate 79-69 on Tuesday night.

The Dukes are off to a 4-0 start for the second consecutive year. Last year, Duquesne opened 6-0 — its best start in 28 years — en route to posting the school’s first winning record in 14 years at 17-13.

Leading 44-40 at halftime, the Dukes scored the first five points of the second half. The Spartans (0-4), trying for their first win of the season, scored the next 11 points to cut the lead to 51-49, but could get no closer.

Jason Duty chipped in 17 points for Duquesne and Aaron Jackson was a triple threat with 15 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists.

Bobby Davis led the Spartans with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting while De’Marion Gordon added 11.

November 25, 2008 by John Lamb | A10Collegehoops

In the era of Power Conferences and Mid-Majors a basketball team can measure its success with signature wins against BCS schools. Although it is very early in the ‘08-’09 season, as of Tuesday evening, the Atlantic 10 is 4-9 versus BCS teams. Xavier has two wins over Missouri and Virginia Tech. St. Bonaventure beat Rutgers in overtime and St. Louis knocked off 53-50. So just where does the A-10 stand on the college basketball landscape?

There is no question that the conference has seen marked improvement in the past few years. Last season the league sent three teams (Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Xavier) to the NCAA Tournament, another four teams (Charlotte, Dayton, UMass and Rhode Island) to the NIT and one team to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (Richmond).

At one point last season it was feasible that the A10 was going to send five teams to the Big Dance. Then the war of attrition that was last year’s conference slate occurred. Dayton was one of the chief victims of the league’s parity as the Flyers raced out to a 14-1 record and a top 25 ranking before limping to the finish line with an 8-8 conference record. Injuries to freshman sensation Chris Wright and junior Charles Little certainly did not help but even if those two were healthy it is hard to forecast where they would have ended up in the final standings.

A year ago, a conference record 11 of the 14 teams had at least 15 wins. The difference between the A10 then and now is that last year the league had signature wins against the big boys across the board. The conference was a mediocre 17-28 against BCS schools but 7 of the 14 teams in the league notched at least one victory against a power conference foe. Xavier led the way with a 5-2 record against the BCS. When conference play opened up the teams beat up on each other but the ones who made statements early in the year were sitting pretty for post season play.

This year the A10 has come very close on many occasions but has yet to seal the deal. Rhode Island came within seconds of knocking off perennial powerhouse Duke. George Washington fell apart against Auburn after racing out to a 44-29 lead at halftime. Charlotte lost in the final minute against Clemson a week after Temple ran out of gas against the Tigers at the Charleston Classic.

LaSalle had not one but two chances to knock off a big name team. Poor execution down the stretch by the Explorers allowed Florida State to eek out a victory at the Tom Gola Arena. LaSalle gave UConn all they could handle but a team can’t expect to win when their opponent makes 19 more foul shots than  they attempted (LaSalle 9-10 from the line; UConn 29-40).

The good news is that there are still plenty of opportunities for the A10 to make some noise on the national scene. All three Philly schools have Villanova to play as per the Big 5. December is a big month for Temple as the Owls will go on the road to play Penn State, Kansas and ‘Nova while welcoming Tennessee to the Liacouras Center.  Duquesne has games against Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Xavier has a chance to solidify its status as a true powerhouse in college basketball. Games against Auburn,  Cincinnati, Duke, Virginia and LSU highlight the Musketeers upcoming non-conference schedule. A winning record in these five games would cement Xavier’s national status and finally put to bed any doubts whether or not they are a mid-major.

A successful rest of the non-conference schedule is essential for the league on two levels. First, if the A10 is going to claim the mantle once more of premier non-BCS basketball conference then its teams must improve their OOC records. Damaging losses to the likes of Jacksonville State by UMass do nothing to help the national profile of the conference. Secondly, a solid OOC record will get the national pundits talking about the league. Everyone knows that the Big East is the best and deepest conference in college basketball but, in terms of parity, the A10 is right there as well. Right now, however, the league is viewed as Xavier and a bunch of other teams.

Can it be done? It is possible, even though the conference has started out behind the 8-ball. While a winning record against the BCS is probably out of the question at this point there is no doubt the a few wins here and there will go a long way in establishing the A10 as a source of quality basketball this season.

team-win-loss

John Lamb can be reached at Johnlamb@A10collegehoops.com

November 23, 2008 | AP Press

PITTSBURGH, PA — Aaron Jackson had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as Duquesne opened up an early nine-point lead and went on to defeat Furman 85-65 on Sunday.

Damian Saunders added 15 points while Bill Clark and freshman reserve Eric Evans each scored 14 for the Dukes (3-0).

Jordan Miller scored 14 points and Noah States and Connor Nolte had 10 each for Furman (1-2), which fell behind 11-2 and never caught up. The Paladins got to within 50-44 with 15:52 remaining, but Clark had five points and Jackson accounted for four as Duquesne scored the next nine points to begin a 21-4 run that put the game away.

The Dukes are 3-0 for the second season in a row, the first time in 21 years they’ve accomplished that feat.

November 20, 2008 | AP Press

LORETTO, Pa. — Aaron Jackson scored 20 points and led four Duquesne scorers in double figures in an 83-72 victory over St. Francis, Pa., on Thursday night.

Eric Evans finished with 16 points, Bill Clark 12 and Damian Saunders 11 for the Dukes (2-0), who overcame 8-for-25 shooting from the line.

Devin Sweetney scored a career-best 25 points and Marquis Ford added 17 points as new St. Francis coach Don Friday lost his home debut.

Duquesne trailed 36-32 late in the first half before scoring eight straight points and taking the lead for good.

St. Francis (0-3) pulled within 55-53 on a 3-pointer by Cale Nelson with 14:10 left, but Duquesne scored six straight points, including four by Eric Evans, to restore a comfortable lead.

PITTSBURGH, PA –Damian Saunders was dominating at both ends of the court with 21 points, six steals and three blocked shots, helping Duquesne open a 28-point lead at halftime en route to its 84-55 victory over High Point on Friday night.

The Dukes, coming off their first winning season in 14 years, weren’t pushed in winning their third opener in as many tries under coach Ron Everhart as Bill Clark and Aaron Jackson each scored 14 points.

Saunders, a 6-foot-7 sophomore originally recruited by Marquette, needed only 22 minutes—four in the second half—to reach his career scoring high.

Eugene Harris led High Point with 15 points.

Sunday, November 2, 2008 by WH | A10collegehoops Contributor

I am not an expert on the coaching of basketball and make no such claims. But here is one layman’s assessment of the 14 league coaches and generally the order in which I would hire them – with one change. (If I were hiring a coach, I would put Mooney and Everhart ahead of Baron.)

Sean Miller, Xavier Musketeers

Miller has improved dramatically after some shaky moments in his first two seasons. He is not the A-10’s best game-day coach, but he’s not far off. And now he’s recruiting at a higher level than anyone else. Is No. 1 too high? It’s hard to argue with Xavier’s success under Miller (70.5% winning percentage).

Phil Martelli, St. Joseph’s

Martelli does more with less than any of his A-10 counterparts. His teams are mentally tough and fundamentally sound and seem to peak every year come A-10 tournament time. The challenge for Martelli is to do more with more – the Hawks are often short of quality depth. Perhaps a renovated FieldHouse will allow Martelli to recruit more good players.

Fran Dunphy Temple Owls

Perhaps no other coach in the league except Martelli could have turned Temple around as fast as Dunphy. The Owls are much more efficient offensively compared to the late Chaney years and now the defense is coming around. Dunphy has a great eye for talent and excels at developing players.

Rick Majerus, St. Louis Billikens

Majerus gets a high ranking based on past performance, not on results of his first season in the A-10. The Billikens were competitive despite a thin roster, but it remains to be seen whether Majerus still has the coaching magic. A very good sign is the incoming recruiting class, one of the best in the league on paper.

Karl Hobbs, George Washington Colonials

Hobbs gets high marks for three straight NCAA appearances before last season’s meltdown. Clearly the bad publicity about GW’s admissions policy a few years ago constrained Hobbs’ recruiting – the loss of Jeremy Wise still stings – and the talent level has dropped off.

Yet Hobbs still does a good job of getting long, lean kids and molding them into A-10 caliber players. GW rebounded down the stretch last season and was playing very good ball in the last month (just ask Xavier and UMass) using a 5-8 walk-on as point guard. That’s coaching. Hobbs also kicked three talented players off the team, including Mo Rice, for being disruptive. That’s showing the players he’s still the boss and won’t let things get out of hand.

Brian Gregory, Dayton Flyers

The Flyers would have earned their second NCAA under Gregory if Chris Wright did not get hurt. Gregory has steadily upgraded the talent level and his teams are fundamentally sound. The Flyers play solid defense and crash the boards. The offense has not been especially creative, but higher talent should alleviate that problem. Gregory has had particular difficulty recruiting good point guards.

Bobby Lutz. Charlotte 49ers

Lutz turned the program around last season by reintroducing defense and effort to the players’ vocabulary. Charlotte had been shaky fundamentally since joining the A-10 and the offense was undisciplined. Big improvements occurred in almost every phase last year. Lutz, a good recruiter, also upgraded the talent base. When he’s motivated, Lutz can match wits with any coach in the league.

John Giannini, LaSalle Explorers

Giannini has already shown he can win in the A-10 with just a handful of good players. Now he’s showing he can recruit lots of quality players to LaSalle. Last year, he admitted to a big mistake – no easy thing for a coach – by scrapping a patterned offense after it failed early in the season. LaSalle began to play well once the coach revved up the offense. Knock on wood, but it looks like the Explorers might make a breakthrough in the next few years.

Jim Baron, Rhode Island Rams

Baron gets this ranking based on past achievement, but last year’s late-season collapse has opened him up to deserved criticism – not for the first time, either. Reaching 20 wins was a big accomplishment, but ceding an all-but-guaranteed NCAA bid was a big disaster.

Like Giannini, Baron changed his offense a few years ago when his old ways weren’t working. He gets credit for that. Problem is, the new-look Rams have been mediocre defensively, an area in which Baron’s teams once excelled, and shot selection has been iffy. Add a few demerits. Baron has had a good career at some difficult places to win, but not too many people in Kingston are in his corner these days.

Chris Mooney, Richmond Spiders

If Richmond builds on last year’s success even without the services of injured center Dan Geriot, Mooney would move up the list. He’s quickly restored Richmond to competitiveness with excellent recruiting and coaching. Like Fran Dunphy, he seems to have a great eye for not-so-obvious talent and his players get better under his coaching. There’s no reason to believe the Spiders won’t continue to improve.

Ron Everhart, Duquesne Dukes

Master rebuilder delivered a winning season at Duquesne for the first time since 1994, but his second season wasn’t entirely successful. Everhart substituted players too liberally and he mishandled the point position. It was a good year that could have been better. Now the Dukes are starting over again with almost an entirely new roster. Fortunately Everhart seems to be a demon of a recruiter. The team is very young, but there’s a lot of talent.

Dereck Whittenburg, Fordham Rams

Whit did a good job of stabilizing a shaky program and making it respectable, but he failed in the ultimate task of producing a winner. Last year’s senior-laden team was a huge disappointment. Much of the problem stems from the coach’s inability to recruit a good point guard as well as quality depth – problems exacerbated by the school’s poor facilities. Whit didn’t help matters with a pouty performance on the bench. Body language does matter, Dereck.

Whittenburg is never going to outcoach anyone, so he better get better players and get the Rams back to playing hard every game.

Mark Schmidt, St. Bonaventure Bonnies

Schmidt’s coaching ability looks somewhat better after his old school, Robert Morris, surged to 26 wins. It says Schmidt recruited talented players and did some good coaching. On the other hand, one wonders if a veteran RMU team would have won as many games if Schmidt were coach. Whatever the case, the Bonnies actually overachieved in Schmidt’s first year even though the roster was one of the least talented in A-10 history. And now Schmidt appears to have done a fantastic job of upgrading the talent base in just one year. Only time will tell if the players are any good, though. If they are, then we’ll get a better idea of Schmidt’s coaching ability.

Derek Kellogg, Massachusetts Minutemen

Incomplete. Rookie Minutemen boss is viewed as a great recruiter and he’s learned under one of the best college coaches in the nation. He was given a good roster to start. Let’s see what he makes of it.