A lot can happen in a month.

Just look at Duquesne sophomore swingman B.J. Monteiro as the most remarkable evidence.

Last month at this time he wasn't a starter.

But now he's coming off a game when Dukes coach Ron Everhart went out of his way to make sure Monteiro got the ball when it was crunch time.

Some rise, huh?

"My teammates are starting to believe in me," said Monteiro, who is averaging 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. "And the coaches are starting to get me the ball down the stretch. So, I'm comfortable in the offense and just trying to make plays."

Monteiro, who has been a starter since the second game of the season only because Melquan Bolding injured his wrist, is coming off Saturday night's game in which he scored 17 points, went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, turned the ball over just once and made a huge jumper and two free throws in the final 1:25 to finish off Robert Morris.

He heads into tonight's game against Canisius (4-4) having scored double-digits in six of the nine games he has started this season. He also has shown a penchant for being able to play well in late-game situations - he scored 14 of his 17 points against Robert Morris in the second half, fending off the chances the Colonials had at pulling an upset.

"I thought that was really big for him, because he had not been shooting the ball very well," Everhart said of Monteiro's progression within the Robert Morris game. "From a confidence standpoint, he had some mental toughness about him going down the stretch. I looked out there and he made me believe he was the guy we had to get the ball to."

Asked if there was something said in one of those late-game timeout huddles against Robert Morris by Monteiro to Everhart, the coach admitted that it wasn't a case of the player imploring the coach to get him the ball.

Rather, Everhart just had a sense.

"I just liked the way he was bouncing, I liked the way he was feeling at the end of the game," Everhart said. "He had made a couple of shots; he had made a couple of plays defensively."

And he has made a big difference in helping the Dukes - who are 7-3 - to a 6-3 mark since Bolding got hurt.

There was a sense when Bolding, who is due back late this month, was injured in the opener against Nicholls State and had subsequent wrist surgery, that it would be devastating to Duquesne's chances at getting into the January as a team with a solid record.

Those worries were belied in Monteiro's first start, when the Dukes went on the road and defeated Iowa, 52-50.

While there is no question most remember Bill Clark drilling a 3-pointer from deep on the left wing with 11.7 seconds remaining to give the Dukes a lead they wouldn't relinquish, something else happened after that.

Iowa still had the opportunity to tie it, but Monterio rose up to block Eric May's shot at the buzzer to preserve the victory on national television.

"He's got intestinal fortitude at the end of the game," Everhart said.

The Dukes have realized as much this past month.

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