2009–10 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team

Source[11]

Ron Everhart returned for his fourth season as head coach. After the departure of previous coach Danny Nee, Everhart steadily improved the team's record year after year, taking the team from 3–24 the year before he arrived to the 21–13 record of 2008–09. Everhart attended Virginia Tech, from which he graduated in 1985. He served as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, Virginia Military Institute, and Tulane University. In 1995, he took his first head coaching job at McNeese State University, and also coached at Northeastern University before moving to Duquesne in 2006.[12]

Bill Barton returned for his third season as Associate Head Coach. Steve Hall and Scott Rigot both served as Assistant Coaches for their second year. Jason Byrd was the Director of Basketball Operations.[13]

The Dukes played their first game of the season on November 7 in an exhibition match against Division III La Roche. Duquesne scored a 47-point victory in which Damian Saunders led in scoring with 17 points. Despite the solid win, Duquesne made only 47.6% from the free throw line, a trend which haunted the team the rest of the season.[14]

The regular season home-opener was another victory for the team, as they defeated Nicholls State 85–62 on November 13. Early in the game, Melquan Bolding hit the floor on a hard foul during a breakaway. After a few minutes, he recovered and went on to lead the team with 25 points. Saunders scored 17 points with 19 rebounds, his first of a long streak of double-doubles.[15] This game was also the second and final game of B.J. Monteiro's 2-game suspension following allegations of participating in a robbery.[16] Three days later, it was announced that Bolding had fractured his wrist when he was fouled, and would be unable to play for 4–6 weeks.[17]

Despite the loss of Bolding, the team went on the road to face Iowa on November 17, with newly returned B.J. Monteiro starting in place of Melquan Bolding. When down 49–50 with 11.7 seconds left, Bill Clark took an off-balance 3-point shot which spun in, putting the team up 52–50 and sealing their second victory of the regular season. This was Duquesne's first ever victory at a Big Ten arena, and its first victory against a Big Ten school since a win over Illinois in 1973.[18]

The team then traveled to Cullowhee, North Carolina for three games as part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Duquesne defeated Binghamton 70–52 to extend its record to 3–0, with Saunders leading the way with 24 points.[19] The next day the team improved to 4–0 with an overtime 75–72 victory against Division II Arkansas-Monticello.[20] On the third day of play, Duquesne finally lost to Western Carolina, 77–83.[21]

The Dukes then returned home, where they faced Radford on November 29. B.J. Monteiro continued to perform well as a starter in replacing Melquan Bolding, leading the team with 21 points.[22] Next up for the team was the annual City Game match-up between Duquesne and its crosstown rival Pitt. In front of 12,336 fans at the Mellon Arena, Duquesne sprang out to a 16-point lead before slipping and losing 58–67 in double overtime. Bill Clark led all players with 23 points but the team hit foul trouble, with Saunders, Monteiro, and Peggau all fouling out in the final minutes.[23]

On December 5, Duquesne hosted the Chuck Cooper Classic, in which it defeated the Savannah State Tigers by a score of 58–44. Eric Evans led with 17 points and Damian Saunders contributed 15.[24]

Four days later, the Dukes were blown out 39–68 by #7 West Virginia. Saunders led the team with only 12 points. One analyst attributed this loss to the skill of the Mountaineers, an abysmal night by star Bill Clark, as well as the continued absence of Melquan Bolding and now senior captain Jason Duty, who missed the game with a sprained ankle.[25]

On December 12 the Dukes faced off against another local rival, Robert Morris. In a 59–54 win, B.J. Monteiro again led the team with 17 points. Monteiro's continued high level of play prompted some analysts, as well as fans, to wonder whether the approaching return of Melquan Bolding would send Monteiro back to the bench, or if someone else would lose their starting position.[26] Four days later the Dukes held off the Canisius Golden Griffins in a double overtime 86–77 victory at home. Bill Clark and Damian Saunders both contributed double doubles while B.J. Monteiro scored a career high 27 points.[27]

The team then traveled to Indianapolis, where they lost to IUPUI 64–73, despite a career high 20 points from Eric Evans.[28] In their final game before a short Christmas break, Duquesne defeated the Saint Francis Red Flash 86–56. Damian Saunders scored his tenth double-double, making him the national leader in that statistic, as well as second in rebounds.[29] Following the break, Duquesne lost its final non-conference game to the Old Dominion Monarchs by a score of 54–63, the first of a five-game losing streak. Saunders still managed to post his eleventh double-double, coming just one block short of what would have been only the second triple-double in school history.[30]

Duquesne opened conference play on January 6 in a match against the Richmond Spiders, a team which the Dukes had not defeated since the Spiders joined the Atlantic 10 in 2001. This game marked the return of Melquan Bolding, though he did not start and scored only three points in fourteen minutes of playing time. Richmond managed to extend their streak, defeating the Dukes 86–80, while Saunders maintained his nation-leading position and now placed eighth in both blocks and steals.[31] Duquesne then traveled to Dayton, Ohio where they lost to the Dayton Flyers 72–78 in overtime in front of a crowd of 13,435, the largest crowd the team would see all season. Senior Jason Duty was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the end of the game when his team was down by one, but made only one of three foul shots, sending the game into overtime.[32] Melquan Bolding scored 13 points in 36 minutes, though he did not start, and Saunders came into the game now leading the nation in rebounds.[33]

Duquesne found itself in overtime once again as they dropped another game against the St. Louis Billikens in double overtime, 75–79. Melquan Bolding suffered another setback as he sat out most of the game, playing only five minutes due to strep throat.[34] The team then went back out on the road to face the Rhode Island Rams, where they again lost with a final score of 67–75, dropping their conference record to 0–4. Bill Clark missed a game for the first time in his college career due to a suspension on suspicion of a "secondary NCAA rules violation." Melquan Bolding started the game for the first time since his injury, but only scored 6 points.[35]

Two days later, Clark was reinstated.[36] With Clark back in the lineup for a home game against St. Bonaventure Bonnies, Ron Everhart tried a new starting lineup: one that included Bolding and Monteiro, but left Senior Jason Duty on the bench. The Dukes took a 15-point lead at half time, but the Bonnies came back. With less than thirty seconds left, Bill Clark drew a charging penalty which gave his team the ball, down by two. One quick possession by each team left it 67–69 in favor of the Bonnies. On the final play, Damian Saunders drove towards the basket before passing it out to Melquan Bolding, who hit a 3-point shot to put the Dukes up by one with 3.5 seconds remaining. Duquesne won 70–69, giving them their first win since December 22.[37]

The winning feeling was short-lived, however, as the Dukes were shut down by the Xavier Musketeers on January 28, losing 86–50. Melquan Bolding led the team with 14 points, Damian Saunders scored only 6, and Bill Clark only 4.[38] On January 31 the team pulled out a 74–71 win against the Saint Joseph's Hawks at home, with Melquan Bolding leading the team with 24 points.[39]

Once again, though, the Dukes were unable to build momentum as they lost 60–76 to #19 ranked Temple. Bill Clark and Eric Evans led the team with just 12 points each.[40] On February 6, the Dukes braved a blizzard for a game against the George Washington Colonials in Washington, D.C.. Saunders led the way to a 70–63 win with a career-high 27 points.[41] Returning home on February 11 to face the Massachusetts Minutemen, the Dukes were unable to win two consecutive games for the third straight time, losing 80–84. Damian Saunders scored 15 points, but was injured and left the game for a while; when he returned, he did not score in the remainder of his playing time. He did, however, become Duquesne's 33rd player to pass the 1,000 career points mark.[42]

Duquesne enjoyed another game at home on February 14 against the La Salle Explorers. Ron Everhart sought a new strategy for his team, which was struggling in conference play. In this game, La Salle was missing three players, leaving them with an active roster of only eight players. Duquesne ran a 10–40 pattern, in which two squads of five players execute short, intense bursts before being switched out for the other squad. At first, Duquesne fell behind by 14 points, but the strategy paid off as La Salle's players tired. With La Salle fatigued, Duquesne switched back to a normal rotation and went on to win 103–82. Bill Clark scored a career high 34 points, and also surpassed the 1,000 point mark.[43]

The nearly sold-out Palumbo Center during the Dayton game on February 21.

As underdogs on the road against the Charlotte 49ers, the Dukes' new 10–40 strategy led them to an 83–77 upset victory. This was the first time of the season the team had managed to win two consecutive conference games.[44] On February 21, Duquesne again returned home for a nationally televised game against the Dayton Flyers. Senior Jason Duty was honored in a pre-game ceremony, and the game's attendance of 5,144 was only 214 short of the A.J. Palumbo Center's capacity. A late layup drive by Damian Saunders put the Dukes up by one, and they went on to win 73–71.[45]

Duquesne was unable to extend its streak on the road against St. Louis, as they lost 59–69. Bill Clark led the team with 17 points and Saunders grabbed four steals, enough to raise his per-game average to 2.9, a nation-leading figure. With this, Saunders had at one point led the nation in double-doubles, rebounds, and steals.[46][47] The Dukes lost again, 80–92, in their final road game against Saint Bonaventure. The loss put a damper on Duquesne's hopes for a home game in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament, as they fell into a tie for the ninth seed position.[48]

Duquesne closed its season against Fordham, who had yet to win a conference game and had only won two games all season. Fordham was hungry for a win, and a lack of effective defense on both sides led to a high scoring 111–100 victory for Duquesne. Melquan Bolding and Eric Evans both posted career high scores of 32 and 23, respectively.[49]

Duquesne players received a few accolades in the 2009–10 season. Junior Damian Saunders's outstanding play earned him a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team. He was also named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year. Earlier in the season, Jason Duty was nominated as a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award, an award which recognizes college seniors who demonstrate exemplary outstanding performance both on the court and in the classroom. Duty, who held a 3.72 GPA as an accounting major and had already accepted a job with PricewaterhouseCoopers, was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team.[60][61]

Early in the season, Damian Saunders was named Atlantic 10 (A-10) player of the week for two consecutive weeks, sharing the honors with Chris Wright of Dayton and Jordan Crawford of Xavier, respectively.[62] Following his 34-point performance against La Salle, Bill Clark earned his first career A-10 Player of the Week award, with Richmond's Kevin Anderson.[63]

The season was also marred by a few controversies. Prior to the beginning of play, B.J. Monteiro was arrested on October 3 in Middletown, Connecticut. He turned himself into police on suspicion of participating in the theft of a laptop, iPod, and cash from a house during a party in early August. He was charged with third-degree larceny and, on October 6, he was suspended indefinitely from the team.[16] Following his court appearance on October 13, all charges were dropped and Monteiro was reinstated to the team.[64]

In late January, Junior Bill Clark was benched for the game against Rhode Island as the NCAA investigated a potential secondary rules violation. The specific details of the incident were not released by Duquesne, even after Clark's return to the team the next day. A secondary rules violation is defined as "one that is isolated or inadvertent in nature, provides or is intended to provide only a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage."[65][66]

In the postseason, Bill Clark was again suspended, this time by coach Everhart for a conduct issue. The day before the CBI game against Princeton, Everhart announced that Clark would not travel to the game or participate in any practices or team activities until he felt the student ready to return. Clark was reinstated two weeks later, and, as before, no details were revealed.[67][68]