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Dokes leads Duquesne against West Virginia

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Duquesne's program has not been blessed with a plethora of talented post players the past few years. In fact, the previous time a Dukes power forward scored 30 points in a game was 1993.

Last night, Ron Dokes, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound junior-college transfer, scored 29 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the Dukes' 86-82 victory against West Virginia at the Palumbo Center.

"Dokes was excellent," Dukes Coach Danny Nee said. "It was a monster night. He was a very domineering player. His teammates found him. He was a physical force on the boxes, and he made his free throws."

Derrick Alston, who played for the Dukes from 1991-94 and had a cup of coffee in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, was the previous power forward to score 30 points in a game. That was against Detroit Mercy in the 1993 Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament.

Dokes gives the Dukes a presence underneath that they haven't enjoyed in years. He was 8 for 11 from the field, 13 for 18 from the free-throw line and had four dunks.

West Virginia Coach John Beilein coached in the Atlantic 10 Conference the past five seasons at Richmond, and believes the Dukes have a player who can play with the conference's best post players.

"I've never heard of him. He's a great, great get for Duquesne," said Beilein, who coached against the Dukes twice last season. "He can play with anybody from the Atlantic 10 or Big East. He's a heck of a player."

Dokes, who played last season at Lincoln Trail College in Illinois, said he was expecting to be the center of attention. He said Nee and the coaching staff had been preparing for West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone for the past two weeks. It was the same zone that gave the Dukes fits last season in their two meetings against Beilein's Richmond team.

"We knew going in what we had to do," said Dokes, who was 3 for 14 from the field and scored eight points against Pitt in the opener. "I just tried to finish. We were well-prepared for this game."

West Virginia was led by Penn Hills graduate Drew Schifino, who had 33 points in 33 minutes. Freshman forward Kevin Pittsnogle added 19 for the Mountaineers.

Jimmy Tricco (14), Elijah Palmer (13) and Kevin Forney (11) also scored in double figures for the Dukes (1-1). Brad Midgley had five points and six assists.

"A lot of different guys played well," Nee said. "I thought Brad Midgley's assists were huge. And Elijah was very instrumental in getting us the lead in the first half."

The Dukes had a healthy 42-26 lead at halftime, thanks to a 20-6 run over the final eight minutes of the half.

Dokes scored seven points in the run, and the Mountaineers went scoreless over the final 4:20.

But West Virginia came out with the hot hand in the second half and drew within six after Schifino's jumper with 16:25 remaining. The Mountaineers had three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the half, two from Pittsnogle. They were 8 for 16 from 3-point range in the second half after shooting 1 for 8 in the first.

But the Dukes never let the lead slip below six until less than a minute remained. The Dukes staved off a late West Virginia rally by going 8 for 8 from the free-throw line in the final 38 seconds. A 3-pointer from Pittsnogle with one second left cut the lead to two, but Palmer made two free throws with 0.6 left to seal the win.

While things are looking rosy for the Dukes inside, the play at point guard is becoming a source of concern for Nee. Forney had seven turnovers after committing five against Pitt.

Forney is splitting the point guard duties with freshman Bryant McAllister until McAllister adjusts to the speed of the college game.

McAllister, of West Mifflin, had six points and no turnovers in 15 minutes.

"I was very disappointed with Kevin," Nee said. "He didn't play well against Pitt, and he had seven turnovers [last night]. We've been trying to teach him point guard for the past two seasons."

Forney sounded as if he would like to hand off the point guard duties to McAllister as soon as possible.

"I think everyone knows what I want to do," he said. "We're letting Bryant get a feel for things. I'd like to see him come in and me slide over to [shooting guard]. But until he comes around, I know I can start there."

NOTES -- Forney had back spasms before the game and could not participate in the shootaround, but he said his back did not bother him during the game. ... The Dukes play Cleveland State (1-2), 8 p.m. tomorrow, at the Palumbo Center. The Duquesne women's team plays James Madison at 5:45 p.m. ... The Dukes won their home opener for the fifth consecutive season.