Shawn James' seat on the airplane yesterday was empty, and he most likely will be missing when Duquesne meets Temple tonight in Philadelphia.

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Scouting report

• Matchup: Duquesne (16-11, 6-8 Atlantic 10) vs. Temple (16-12, 9-5), 7 p.m. today, Liacouras Center, Philadelphia.
• TV, Radio, Internet: Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh, KQV-AM (1410), GoDuquesne.com, redzonemedia.com.
• Duquesne: Coming off an 89-82 defeat at Charlotte for fourth consecutive loss. ... Averages 82.3 points, allows 73.8. ... Has lost six games by a total of 18 points. ... Is 12th nationally with 9.5 steals per game. Damian Saunders has a team-high 42. ... Eight players average more than 7.0 points, led by Shawn James' 13.2 ppg.
• Temple: Coming off a 57-56 win against Saint Joseph's. ... Averages 71.7 points, allows 68.9. ... Leading scorers are Dionte Christmas (19.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and Mark Tyndale (16.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.0 apg).
• Hidden stat: Duquesne has clinched its first winning season since 17-13 in 1993-94 under John Carroll.

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James, 6 feet 10, who leads the Dukes in scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and blocked shots (106 blocks), had an MRI yesterday morning and was diagnosed with a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. He is scheduled to see a specialist this morning and could take a flight to join the team and possibly play if the doctor gives him the green light.

"If it's determined he can play, we could have him for limited duty. If not, he'll stay back and begin rehab," said Duquesne coach Ron Everhart, whose Dukes (16-11, 6-8) have lost four games in a row and are tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Only 12 of the 14 teams will qualify for the league tournament next week in Atlantic City, N.J.

Duquesne completes its regular season against Saint Louis at 4 p.m. Saturday at Palumbo Center.

James, the fifth-leading shot-blocker in Division I with 4.1 per game, injured the shoulder when he was fouled while attempting a dunk with 10:20 left in the second half of Duquesne's 89-82 defeat Sunday at Charlotte. He made both free throws and then sat on the bench the remainder of the game.

The loss of James will add to Duquesne's problems against the Owls (16-12, 9-5), who have won seven of their past 10 games and are second in the A-10.

"This changes a lot for us," Everhart said. "We're going to have to make adjustments around the basket and we're going to need players to step up."

One of those players will have to be Kieron Achara, a 6-10 graduate student who had 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals in an 83-67 victory against St. Bonaventure in late January when James missed his only game with a knee injury. Achara averages 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds and has 41 blocks.

After practice yesterday, Everhart said he plans to find some minutes for two seldom-used players, 6-8 freshman David Theis and 6-3 junior Phillip Fayne.

"Theis is ready. He's really been practicing well, and I've regretted not using him the last two or three games," Everhart said of Theis, who has appeared in 10 games and averaged 2.0 points. "Phillip's been shooting it extremely well in practice, and we need someone to knock down shots for us."

Fayne, who hasn't played in the past 10 games, averages 3.8 points in 17 games and is 9 of 28 from beyond the arc.

NOTES -- James was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 3 second team. The district is comprised of 28 schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. James is among 150 players from 15 districts who are eligible for the State Farm Division I All-American team that will be announced April 5.