A smile has returned to the faces of Duquesne's players. So has laughter. They have replaced the frowns and silence of the past two weeks.

All it took to transform Duquesne's mood was an 85-58 victory against Saint Louis Saturday that ended a five-game losing streak and gave the Dukes a sunnier disposition heading into the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament this week in Atlantic City, N.J.

The 10th-seeded Dukes (17-13) will meet No. 7 La Salle (14-16) in the opening round Wednesday at 6:30. The winner will play No. 3 Temple, which has a bye in the first round, in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Duquesne and La Salle split two games in the regular season, each winning on the other's home court. Duquesne won, 101-84, at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia and, 15 days later, La Salle was a 75-72 winner at Palumbo Center.

"We all feel there were some games we'd like to come back [and play again]," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said. "If it works out that we're going to play somebody who has beaten us, that's good, too."

Unlike Duquesne which is coming off a feel-good victory against Saint Louis, La Salle has lost three games in a row and the swagger it had when it defeated Duquesne in the midst of a five-game win streak. This is a favorable matchup for Duquesne because La Salle also prefers a fast-paced tempo and is the fourth-highest scoring team in the league with a 75.9 average. Duquesne is second at 82.4.

La Salle's headliner is senior guard Darnell Harris (18.0 ppg), whose 335 career 3-pointers is a school and league record. He leads the league this season with 3.86 3-pointers per game and is second with a .483 percentage.

Duquesne's 3-pointer leader is 6-foot-5 freshman Bill Clark, who has made 40 of 127 for a .314 percentage. Clark was named co-rookie of the week in the A-10 after he averaged 11.6 points and was 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in three games. Teammate Damian Saunders has won the honor three times, giving Duquesne two players to get the award in the same season for only the third time.

Clark's perimeter accuracy has opened things up inside for 6-10 Kieron Achara, who had 24 points against Saint Louis that included 12 of 12 from the free-throw line.

"Saint Louis is a great defensive team," Achara said of the Billikens, who entered the game leading the league with a 60.7 average. "It shows you what we can do offensively. But, if we don't play defense in the tournament, you go home early. I don't think anybody takes anybody for granted in this tournament because it has been such an up and down season for most of the teams."

Everhart was pleased with the defensive effort which had been missing in recent games.

"We guarded as well as we've guarded all year," he said. "That's a nice feeling going into the tournament."

Duquesne's Reggie Jackson gave the Dukes a big lift in the win against Saint Louis with 12 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

"This was a big momentum boost for us," Jackson said. "To get this win means a lot for us."

Shawn James, a 6-10 junior who missed the previous game with a shoulder injury, made a cameo appearance against Saint Louis.

"I saw him wince and grab his shoulder and got him right out of there," Everhart said of James, who had two points and two rebounds in six minutes. "The biggest key is for us to have him for extended minutes if he's available Wednesday."