Duquesne coach Ron Everhart liked what he saw in an 85-58 victory Saturday against Saint Louis, and he wants to see more of it from his Dukes in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

"We played with a chip on our shoulder. I hope they carry over that attitude to the tournament," he said. "I think they were tired of me screaming at them. I think they were tired of losing."

The 10th-seeded Dukes (17-12) will meet No. 7 La Salle (14-16) at 6:30 p.m. today in the opening round of the conference tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

---

Scouting report

• Matchup: Duquesne (17-12) vs. La Salle (14-16), 6:30 p.m. today, Convention Center, Atlantic City, N.J.
• Radio, Internet: KQV-AM (1410), GoDuquesne.com, redzonemedia.com.
• Duquesne: Coming off an 85-58 victory against Saint Louis to end a five-game losing streak. ... Led by 6-foot-10 Shawn James (12.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 107 blocks, .548 field goal percentage), 6-1 Kojo Mensah (12.5 ppg, 96 assists, 86 turnovers, 39 steals). ... Eight players average between 6.7 and 12.8 points per game. ... Aaron Jackson has team highs with 102 assists, 41 steals. ... Average 82.4 points, allow 73.8.
• La Salle: Coming off an 85-66 loss to Temple for third consecutive loss. ... Sr. G Darnell Harris (16.0 ppg) has 335 career 3-pointers for a school and A-10 record. ... F Rodney Green averages 13.2 points. ... Averages 75.9 points, allows 75.6.
• Hidden stat: Duquesne has set school season records for blocks (214), assists (527) and steals (270).

---

Duquesne and La Salle split games during the season, each winning on the other's home court. The Dukes won at Tom Gola Arena, 101-84, and the Explorers were a 75-72 winner 15 days later at the Palumbo Center.

This has been an up and down season for both teams.

La Salle lost its final three games after winning five in a row, including the victory at Duquesne.

"We're finishing up on a lower note," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "You want to be positive and address your weaknesses, but you also want to point out your shortcomings. For us, that's defense. That's a balancing act, the art of coaching."

Everhart has emphasized the plusses from the game against Saint Louis that ended a five-game losing streak.

"I want our players to understand they're capable of beating any team in this conference on a neutral court," he said.

"We've had our share of opportunities, but we've lost a lot of close games and we've kind of hung our heads and not been a real confident team. We rely on emotion and energy to play well."

Duquesne, assured of its first winning record and most victories since going 17-13 in 1993-94, are 1-9 in games decided by seven or fewer points. The Dukes have won their games by an average of 21.7 points.

"We feed off our defense," Everhart. "I'm going to show our players defensive clips of our Saint Louis game. We guarded as well as we've guarded all year; that's a nice feeling going into the tournament."

The Dukes are a pressing, trapping bunch from baseline to baseline and can rattle even the most experienced of opponents.

"You don't want to be tentative against their press. You have to make them pay," Giannini said. "They don't make the game complicated. They're putting kids in the right spots and letting them be aggressive.

"We're going to have to win a lot of one-on-one battles, especially when they put [Kieron] Achara and [Shawn] James on the block."

Achara, a 6-foot-10 graduate student, has scored 24 points in each of the past two games while the 6-10 James has played sparingly because of an injury to his right shoulder. James missed the 90-85 loss at Temple and played just six minutes against Saint Louis.

"We're just excited James will be available," Everhart said. "How long will he play? I can't answer that."

La Salle will counter Duquesne's aggressive defense and superior size underneath with the second-best 3-point shooting percentage (.397) in the league, led by Darnell Harris. The 6-1 Harris has made 335 career 3-pointers to set school and league records.

"Harris can distort a defense," Everhart said. "You always have to know where he is on the floor. La Salle can be a very dangerous team."

Just like Duquesne.