PREVIEW: Duquesne at St. Bonaventure

Dukes and Bonnies meet for the 130th time Wednesday night at the Reilly Center

G19 | DUQUESNE (13-5, 3-2) at ST. BONAVENTURE (9-9, 3-2)
Wed., Jan. 18, 2023 • 7:00 pm ET • Olean, N.Y. • Reilly Center (5,480)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Tom Ames and Chris Scheppner
RADIO: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Tad Maurey

Duquesne (13-5, 3-2), plays its last of three-straight road games when it heads to Western New York to take on St. Bonaventure (9-9, 3-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

The Dukes, who snapped an 11-game road losing streak with a 92-80 win at Saint Joseph's last Wednesday, are looking to post back-to-back road wins for the first time since Feb. 26 & Mar. 3, 2020 (at St. Bonaventure/at VCU).

R.J. Gunn Jr. led the Dukes, who jumped out to a 60-44 halftime lead, with a season-high 26 points at SJU. The 60-point half was DU's highest scoring half under sixth-year head coach Keith Dambrot. It was also the highest first-half point total by a DU team in 54 years.

Gunn Jr. is the third Duke to score 26 in a game this season joining Dae Dae Grant (twice) & Jimmy Clark III.

This is the 130th meeting between the Dukes and Bonnies, who are DU's all-time most frequent opponent. The two, who are meeting for the 72nd-straight season, are separated by an average of 0.9 points per game in the all-time series (9,283 total points for DU to 9,169 for SBU / average score - 72.0 to 71.1).

TRENDING

This is the fourth time in six seasons that DU has opened 13-5 or better under Keith Dambrot (13-5 in 2018, 2019 & 2023 and 15-3 in 2020). In the 45 years prior to Dambrot's arrival, the Dukes opened a season 13-5 or better three times.
The Bonnies game completes the longest road streak of the season for the Dukes (three games).
DU had its complete roster intact for the first time on 12/28 at Dayton (game no. 14).
Duquesne played before a crowd of 20,014 (at Kentucky) and sellouts at both Dayton (13,407) and Richmond (7,201) in its first three road games.
DU, which averaged 65.2 ppg. last year, is averaging 76.0 ppg. (+10.8 ppg.). The Dukes have topped the 90-point mark four times and are 12-2 when scoring 70 or more.
DU's assists per game average is up +5.7/g. from last year (from 10.0 to 15.7).
DU's .381 3-pt percentage is its best under Keith Dambrot (current best is .350 in 2017-18). The school record is .375 set in 1990.
G Dae Dae Grant, who has scored in double digits 15 times, has four games with five or more 3's. He ranked T22nd nationally in 3-pointers/g. (3.11) and T16th in 3-point FGs (56) thru Jan. 14. Grant went over the 1,400-pt. career mark on Dec. 21 vs. Winthrop.
G Jimmy Clark III, who scored 130 points in 33g as a Fr. & So. at VCU, has scored 224 points in 18g at DU. Clark III, who has scored in double digits in DU's past 11 g. - including a career-best 26 vs. VCU - entered the season having never scored more than nine in a D-I game. Clark is tied for the A-10 lead with 36 steals.
Tevin Brewer has handed out a team-high 56 assists despite missing four games due to injuries. His 3.29 assist/turnover ratio is best in the A-10 and ranked 7th nationally thru Jan. 14. His .459 3-point pct. (17-of-37) ranks third in the conference.
Grad student R.J. Gunn, who missed 10 games with a foot injury (returned on Dec. 28 at Dayton), is 15-of-26 from 3-point in his past four games and has scored 13, 16 & 26 points in his past three games. Gunn is shooting .488 from 3-point (21-of-43).
Freshman Kareem Rozier has come off the bench to lead, or tie for the team lead, in assists five times. Rozier has 38 assists and 12 turnovers this season (3.2-to-1 ratio).

DUKES AND BONNIES
Series Record: St. Bonaventure leads 69-60
At Pittsburgh: Duquesne leads 40-22
At Olean/Buffalo: St. Bonaventure leads 43-19
Neutral Site: St. Bonaventure leads 4-1
A-10 Regular Season: St. Bonaventure leads 42-32
A-10 Championship: St. Bonaventure leads 4-2
Dambrot vs. St. Bonaventure: 1-10

This is the 130th game between the two in a series that dates to Feb. 13, 1920. St. Bonaventure is Duquesne's most frequent all-time opponent. The average score in the first 129 meetings?: DU 72.0, SBU 71.1 (9,283 to 9,169 points). This is the 72nd consecutive season the two are meeting and 18th straight year the two are meeting home-and-home. DU owns more conference wins over SBU (32) than any other A-10 school. The Bonnies have won the past five meetings between the two and 13 of the past 14 at Reilly Center.
St. Bonaventure, which has won 19 the past 22 games overall, leads the series 69-60, including a 42-32 advantage in A-10 regular season games and 4-2 edge in A-10 Championship meetings.
The Bonnies have won 16 of the past 19, but it hasn't been easy as 10 of the 19 have been decided by four or fewer points, including four of the past nine.

WORTH NOTING

It took the 2022-23 Dukes - with a roster that features 10 newcomers (five transfers and five freshmen) - just eight games to exceed last year's win total (6-24). The Dukes opened 7-1.
Duquesne, picked to finish 15th of 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, tied the school record for November wins set in 2008 and matched in 2020 (both 6-0). DU went 6-1 in November, with the lone loss coming at No. 4 (AP) Kentucky.
This was just the fourth time in program history - and second time under Keith Dambrot - that the Dukes entered Atlantic 10 play with 10 wins (10-3). The others: 2007-08 (10-3), 2015-16 (10-3) & 2019-20 (10-2).
Duquesne's 66-55 win over DePaul on Dec. 14 was the program's first over a Big East school since an 86-82 victory over West Virginia on Nov. 25, 2002 at A.J. Palumbo Center. The margin of victory was DU's largest over a Power 6 school since a 78-52 win over Penn State (Big Ten) at CONSOL Energy Center on Nov. 20, 2015 (under Jim Ferry).
Eleven Dukes (Brewer, Clark III, Dixon, Grant, Gunn, Hronsky, McGriff, Reece, Rotroff, Rozier & Williams) posted double-digit scoring games.
DU has erased first half deficits of 14 (vs. Ball State, down 18-4) and 16 points (vs. Indiana State, down 20-4) to win this season. The Dukes have 19 double-digit comeback wins under Keith Dambrot (all have come in the past four seasons).
DU jumped out to a 20-0 lead (and led 29-2) in its 74-57 win over Winthrop on Dec. 21. The 20-0 run is the best by a Dambrot-coached Dukes team.
DU scored 60 points in the first half (led 60-44) of its 92-80 win at Saint Joseph's. The 60 points were the most in any half under Keith Dambrot and most in a first half since the Dukes scored 63 in the first half of a 120-75 win over Marshall on Dec. 5, 1969.
The Dukes haven't trailed in five games this season: South Carolina State, DePaul, Winthrop, VCU and at Saint Joseph's.
The 2022-23 Dukes, who inherited a 16-game Atlantic 10 regular season losing streak, put an end to that skid in their second conference game (a 72-61 New Year's Eve win over Rhode Island). The Rhody win also snapped an eight-game A-10 home skid. DU snapped an 11-game road losing streak (including 10-straight A-10 road defeats) with its 92-80 win at Saint Joe's on Jan. 11.

LAST GAME: DUQUESNE 92, SAINT JOSEPH'S 80
Jan. 11, 2022 • Hagan Arena • Philadelphia, Pa.

Duquesne rode a Keith Dambrot Era high for any half to a 60-44 first half lead in a wire-to-wire win at Saint Joseph's. The Dukes shot 66.7% (10-of-13 from 3-point) in the opening 20 minutes in posting the school's highest first half point total in 54 years (since 63 in a 125-70 win over Marshall on Dec. 5, 1969).
The win snapped an 11-game road losing streak that included 10-straight A-10 road defeats.
R.J. Gunn scored 19 of his game-high 26 points (5-of-7 from 3-point) in the first half to lead the Dukes who went 14-of-25 from 3-point for the game. Six Dukes hit at least one 3-pointer.
Joe Reece (season high-tying 18 points), Dae Dae Grant (17 points, 4-of-7 from 3-point) and Jimmy Clark III (11 points) also scored in double digits for the Dukes.
DU, led by six assists from both Tevin Brewer and Kareem Rozier, assisted on 24 of 31 field goals.
The Dukes .564 game field goal pct. was its best in a road game under Keith Dambrot.
Duquesne was without injured starting forward Tre Williams for the second consecutive game.
Duquesne's largest lead was 23, at 83-60, with 6:21 left. Duquesne led for 39:34.