Game 37: Men at Duquesne

The men's team travels to Pittsburgh, PA to face Duquesne (12-5, 2-2) tonight at the A.J. Palumbo Center. GW (5-9, 1-3) is coming off of an 81-70 loss at Rhode Island on Wednesday night. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (17 points, four rebounds), Wynton Witherspoon (10 points, four rebounds), and Noel Wilmore (10 points). However, the Rams used a steady barrage of three-pointers (10-22, 45.5%) to bury GW in the second half.

The Dukes, who were picked to finish 11th out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 10-19 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Duquesne is led by three players who are averaging double figures in scoring: 6-10 junior forward/center Shawn James (14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.1 blocks per game this season), who sat out the team's most recent game against St. Bonaventure and is questionable for tonight's matchup with a knee sprain, 6-1 junior guard Kojo Mensah (13.9 points, 3.9 assists), and 6-10 graduate student forward/center Kieron Achara (11 points, 4.4 rebounds). Coach Ron Everhart is 22-24 in two seasons at Duquesne; he is 196-196 in 14 seasons as a head coach.

Duquesne is coming off of an 83-67 home win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night. In that one, four Dukes reached double figures in scoring: Achara (18 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, three blocks), Mensah (11 points, four rebounds), 6-3 junior guard Phillip Fayne (11 points), and 6-5 freshman guard/forward Bill Clark (10 points, five rebounds). The win over the Bonnies came after Duquesne had lost back-to-back close contests at Rhode Island (80-78 on January 13) and at Fordham (75-74 on January 19). The Dukes also suffered close losses at #22/23 Drake (77-73 on December 1) and at home against #13/17 Pittsburgh (73-68 on December 5). Duquesne leads the A-10 in scoring offense and defensive field goal percentage.

This is the 66th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 42-23. The last meeting came on Senior Day on March 3, 2007 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 88-80. In that one, Damian Hollis notched his first career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was joined in double figures in scoring by Rob Diggs (17 points, seven rebounds), Travis King (11 points, six rebounds, nine assists), Wilmore (11 points), and Regis Koundjia (10 points, six rebounds). GW is 17-15 all-time at Duquesne and 12-5 at the Palumbo Center. The Colonials have won the last six meetings in the series, with Duquesne's most recent win coming on February 19, 2003 in Pittsburgh by a score of 78-73.

It's almost the end of January and GW is yet to win a game away from the Smith Center. If James doesn't suit up, the game becomes more interesting, but I haven't seen enough from the Colonials to pick them on the road.

Steven Smith and Ben Toder have the call for WRGW with Jordan Teller handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m. Our own Greg Shapiro will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 6.50 p.m.

Game notes: GW has lost all eight of its games away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 11-16 in their last 27 games away from the Smith Center...GW is just 2-3 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...This game features the A-10's top two teams in defensive field goal percentage...Rice needs five points to pass Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock for 30th place in program history...Rice needs 20 points to pass Gene Guarilia for 29th place in program history...Witherspoon needs 17 points to match his two-year total of 188 at Virginia Tech...Rice is averaging 8.5 points per game in four career meetings with the Dukes...Diggs is averaging 8.5 points per game in two career meetings with the Dukes...Wilmore is averaging 5.5 points per game in two career meetings with the Dukes...Duquesne is 8-1 at home with the lone loss coming to #13/17 Pittsburgh.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Palumbo Center when we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 7.37 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Wynton Witherspoon (6-7 junior from Duluth, GA)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)
C - Joseph Katuka (6-10 freshman from Zaria, Nigeria)

Duquesne
G - Jason Duty (6-0 sophomore from Cranberry Township, PA)
G - Kojo Mensah (6-1 junior from Brooklyn, NY)
G - Aaron Jackson (6-4 junior from Hartford, CT)
F - Bill Clark (6-5 freshman from Redondo Beach, CA)
C - Shawn James (6-10 junior from Brooklyn, NY)

GW's lack of point guard depth is really being exposed against the fast-paced Dukes. Coach Karl Hobbs tried to go big with his starting five, but so far it hasn't worked out, as the Colonials have trailed by 20 for much of the first half.

Update, 8.08 p.m. - GW trails 53-30 at the half. Not much to feel good about if you're the Colonials. The big surprise in the A-10 right now is Richmond leading #19 Dayton 46-27 at intermission down in Virginia.

Update, 10.01 p.m. - Well, it's finally over. GW is now 0-9 away from the Smith Center after an embarrassing 92-67 loss at Duquesne. Witherspoon had 17 points, while Diggs had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. However, it's always going to be tough to win when a team turns the ball over 28 times, including seven by Rice and five by Cheyenne Moore. GW also only shot 1-8 (12.5%) from three-point land.

That's all for tonight. It has been a pleasure. As always, thanks for stopping by.