Duquesne Basketball

Senior Micah Mason bursts around an Urbana defender for two of his 16 points. -- DUQUESNE

Senior Micah Mason bursts around an Urbana defender for two of his 16 points. -- DUQUESNE

Experienced Dukes respond to challenge

8

by • Coverage •

By ZACHARY WEISS

Duquesne coach Jim Ferry was upset with his players’ effort in practice earlier this week and was quick to let them know about it.

He also reminded them, while they were preparing for their exhibition against Division II Urbana, that the Dukes went to the wire with another D-II opponent, Shippensburg, in last season’s exhibition.

It was up to the team to respond, something the Dukes haven’t often done in recent years. The response ended up being a 14-point springboard to start the game and a 91-62 victory Tuesday at the A.J. Palumbo Center.

READ MORE / COMMENT

College soccer playoffs touch all corners

13

by • Coverage • , , ,

By C.J. CUNNINGHAM

On Monday, the Division I committee set its 64-team field for the 2015 NCAA women’s soccer championship.

The first-round pairings come with a local matchup between one of the nation’s best and a tournament Cinderella story. This Friday at Dick Dlesk Stadium in Morgantown, second-seeded West Virginia (16-2-1, 7-1-1 Big 12) will host Duquesne (12-9-1, 8-5-0 Atlantic 10), who squeaked in with an unexpected conference title.

The Mountaineers traveled to Kansas City, Mo., last week unbeaten in their last 15 games and on the verge of locking up a first seed. They edged Oklahoma State in the quarterfinal, 2-1, with two goals in the final 10 minutes.

READ MORE / COMMENT

The Duquesne women's soccer team celebrates with their first A-10 championship -- TIM COWIE/ATLANTIC-10

The Duquesne women's soccer team celebrates with their first A-10 championship -- TIM COWIE/ATLANTIC-10

Duquesne athletics: Soccer makes history

18

by • Coverage •

By ZACHARY WEISS

In a preseason Atlantic 10 conference poll, the Duquesne women’s soccer team was selected to finish 12th out of 14 teams.

On Sunday afternoon against Fordham in the finals of the A-10 tournament, a 2-0 victory crowned the Dukes conference champions. With their unlikely win, the Dukes are headed to the NCAA tournament.

It was an upset of almost unthinkable proportions. Duquesne was the only team in the tournament without an all-conference player. They hadn’t been to the conference tournament since 2010 and had never made it to the semifinals. Their long odds only added to the Dukes’ motivation for winning.

READ MORE / COMMENT

Tyler Boyd runs through the Notre Dame defense. -- JARED WICKERHAM

Tyler Boyd runs through the Notre Dame defense. -- JARED WICKERHAM

Alan’s college roundup: Shredding records

16

by • Coverage • , , , ,

BylinesAlanSaunders
While No. 5 Notre Dame was rolling to a 42-30 victory over Pitt (6-3, 4-1 in ACC) at Heinz Field on Saturday, a game with more important implications for the Panthers’ season was being played in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and that one didn’t go Pitt’s way, either.

Their best chance at a Coastal Division title disintegrated when North Carolina blew out Duke, 66-31. A Duke win would have left open the possibility of a three-way tie at the top of the division if the Panthers beat the Blue Devils next Saturday. Now, Pitt must win out and hope for the Tar Heels to lose two of their final three games.

READ MORE / COMMENT

Alan’s college outlook: Tradition on display

19

by • Coverage • , , , ,

BylinesAlanSaunders
There aren’t many games left in the college football schedule like the one that will be played on Saturday at Heinz Field, where two traditional powers, Pitt (6-2, 4-1 ACC) and No. 5 Notre Dame (7-1), will meet for the 70th time.

As conference alignments, television rights deals and the continued perseverance of the almighty dollar over college football’s traditions make games like this one less and less common, it’s possible that they’ve become even more prominent.

“I think it’s a rivalry,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said earlier this week. “It’s a game that’s been played for a lot of years, so there’s a lot of history to the game, and I think both teams really look towards this one as a special game on their calendar.”

READ MORE / COMMENT

Live Qs at 5: Our first all-college edition

63

by • Live Qs at 5 • , , , ,

BylinesAlanSaunders
Welcome to my first Live Qs at 5, and our first as a site that’ll be all colleges.

LiveQsAt5_10-5-2
Here’s how it works: Enter one question in the comments below. I’ll go through and answer as many as possible directly under your Q. When it’s done, all that will be left are the Qs that were used, my replies and any follow-ups by the original questioner.

READ MORE / COMMENT

Senior guard Derrick Colter scored 31 points in Duquesne's Red/Blue game. -- DUQUESNE ATHLETICS

Senior guard Derrick Colter scored 31 points in Duquesne's Red/Blue game. -- DUQUESNE ATHLETICS

Duquesne athletics: Ferry and accountability

5

by • Coverage •

By ZACHARY WEISS

There are plenty of reasons why Duquesne basketball has floundered in its first three seasons under Jim Ferry. Subpar defense and free-throw shooting, a lack of depth and an inexplicable inability to win on the road have all held the Dukes back.

But there is a difference between a reason and an excuse, and this season, Ferry says that no one in his room will be making any excuses. That starts with his senior leaders in Derrick Colter, Jeremiah Jones and Micah Mason.

For the first time since he arrived, Ferry now feels that it isn’t just up to his coaching staff to lead the team. Now, he can allow these seniors to take the reins. At the beginning of official practices, Ferry made the captains write what he called “one mores.”

READ MORE / COMMENT

Good vibes keep rolling for Penn State

by • Coverage • , , ,

By ALAN SAUNDERS

This weekend just kept getting better for Penn State, (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten).

First, the Nittany Lions not only won, but completely dominated Illinois, 39-0 at Beaver Stadium.

Christian Hackenberg again did the heavy lifting for the Blue and White, throwing for two touchdowns and catching another. While Illinois, now 4-4, may not have been a quality win, it was an important step that Penn State was able to soundly beat an inferior opponent.

“We played well in all three phases,” said James Franklin. “We took some opportunities that we had, and we took advantage of them.”

READ MORE / COMMENT

College football outlook: Who is Penn State?

by • Coverage • , , , ,

By ALAN SAUNDERS

This season’s Penn State team has been an enigma. The Nittany Lions, 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten, haven’t looked particularly dominant in any of their wins, but their two losses are to teams with a combined record of 15-0.

Is Penn State good but not great, or just better than the dregs of the league?

The answer starts with the clear reason for those losses, and that’s a lack of scoring. James Franklin came in with an offensive background, and the team’s best player — or at least the one that will be the most sought on Sundays — is quarterback Christian Hackenberg, but in the team’s two setbacks, the offense produced 20 total points.

Most teams throw the ball more when they’re trailing, but Hackenberg’s least prolific performances have been in the losses. He had only 13 attempts two weeks ago against Ohio State. Clearly, for Penn State to be successful, their quarterback is going to have to be the one leading the way, and his three-touchdown performance against Maryland last week can either be a building block toward a successful second half or an outlier in a disappointing season.

READ MORE / COMMENT

Duquesne athletics: Ferry sets hoops priorities

by • Coverage •

By ZACHARY WEISS

In the 100th season of Duquesne basketball, coach Jim Ferry has no doubt about what they keys are for his program’s success.

“We will win if we defend and get rebounds,” Ferry said. “But if we don’t, we will lose,”

Ferry is excited about his backcourt of Derrick Colter, Micah Mason and transfer Rene Castro, who is eligible this season after sitting out 2014-15. But he believes this season will come down to the frontcourt.

“We’ve always been proven to be a quality offensive team, we’re going to score the ball this year, there’s no doubt about it,” said Ferry. “It’s going to be us defending at a higher level.”

READ MORE / COMMENT

Former AD Amodio fond of time at Duquesne

by • Coverage •

By ZACHARY WEISS

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — An unlikely sight occurred at the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball media day on Monday. It was a ceremonial passing of the torch, of sorts, as former Duquesne athletic director Greg Amodio shook hands with his successor David Harper.

Amodio, now the AD at Quinnipiac, entered the Barclays Center shortly after the start of the event and was welcomed by various coaches, athletic directors and others, including Duquesne coach Jim Ferry and associate AD Dave Saba.

“Having been in the Atlantic 10 for 20 years, it’s always good to come back and see some familiar faces,” Amodio said. “I had dinner with a couple of athletic directors last night, guys that we really bounced a lot of things off of. When you’re playing and competing, you’re all trying to win at a high level, but at the same time ADs and coaches have the same issues, so it’s great to sit down and get together.”

READ MORE / COMMENT

Picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10, Duquesne remains competitive despite having no diving program. -- DUQUESNE

Picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10, Duquesne remains competitive despite having no diving program. -- DUQUESNE

Duquesne athletics: Sea change for swimmers

by • Coverage •

By ZACHARY WEISS

Expectations are higher this season for the Duquesne women’s swimming team after matching a program best with a third-place showing at last year’s Atlantic 10 meet.

“From where we were five years ago to where we are today, it’s a testament to the women in our program and the quality of kids we’ve recruited and the athletes that are here now,” coach David Sheets said. “Last year was phenomenal for us, but this year could be even better and it’s because of them. It’s because of the women in our program.”

The Dukes started with a 1-1 weekend in Virginia, defeating Davidson 168-119 and losing to host Richmond, the preseason favorite, by a 149-144 score.

READ MORE / COMMENT

1 2 3