Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 3/15/09: A-10 finals notebook, Duquesne will build on loss
Dukes establish solid foundation
By Aaron Bracy
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 15, 2009
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — They will build on this.
That was Duquesne’s message after the seventh-seeded Dukes lost to No. 4 Temple, 69-64, on Saturday night in the Atlantic 10 championship game at Boardwalk Hall.
The Dukes reached the final — just their third in 31 tournament appearances — with a rotation that featured one senior, one junior, two sophomores and four freshmen.
“Even though I’m not going to be here next year, there’s going to be a core group of guys that know what it takes to get here,” said guard Aaron Jackson, the Dukes’ lone senior.
Duquesne was looking to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth in 32 years by way of the A-10′s automatic bid. But as a consolation, the Dukes likely will end up in the NIT, marking their first postseason tournament appearance since 1994.
“Any opportunity we had to make the season longer, I think that does wonders for the young kids, gives them a taste of what it’s all about,” Dukes coach Ron Everhart said.
The Dukes have a solid foundation to build around, especially with sophomores Damian Saunders and Bill Clark and freshmen Melquan Bolding and Eric Evans. Bolding, a 6-foot-4 guard, joined Jackson on the All-Championship team, and all four underclassmen had eye-opening tournaments.
Evans, a reserve, averaged 9.8 points in the four games, while the three others, all starters, hit double figures: Bolding (14.0), Saunders (13.5) and Clark (13.3). Jackson led the Dukes in the tourney, averaging 19.8 points.
“Coach Everhart did a great job of recruiting the right guys,” Jackson said. “I feel like he’s going to keep on doing that for years to come. I feel like this won’t be the last time Duquesne will be playing for an A-10 championship.”
Celebrating Christmas
Temple senior guard Dionte Christmas continued his strong play against the Dukes. His 29 points yesterday gave him a career average of 23.4 in five games, including his career-high 37 last season.
“He just, for whatever reason, really plays well against us,” Everhart said. “He’s an awful good player. We had him guarded pretty well a couple of times, and he just made shots.”
Christmas finished 10 for 24 yesterday while matching his career high with seven 3-pointers, on 16 attempts. Twenty of his points came in the first half.
“We knew what Christmas was capable of doing,” Jackson said. “Unfortunately for us, he had that killer instinct. The way he reads screens and the defense is incredible.”
Ironman
Jackson played all 40 minutes yesterday, making it 156 of 160 in the four tournament games. Jackson, who has never missed a game, has played in 119 career games and is one shy of Tony Petrarca for most career games in Dukes history.
Record pace
The Dukes (21-12) remained at 21 wins, their most since the 1970-71 squad went 21-4 while finishing ranked No. 15 in the AP poll. The last Dukes team to reach 22 wins was the 1961-62 unit that went 22-7, placed fourth in the NIT and finished ranked No. 17.
