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PITTSBURGH - Derrick Colter scored 17 points and Darius Lewis added 10 points and a career high-tying 7 blocks as Duquesne snapped a four-game losing streak with a 81-71 win over Saint Louis at Palumbo Center.

The victory - DU's eighth in nine home games - upped the Dukes' record to 11-6 overall and 1-3 in the Atlantic 10.

It was the 11th consecutive Atlantic 10 road loss for the Billikens who dropped to 6-10 and 1-3 in conference play.

Saint Louis struggled to score in the opening 20 minutes, going 4-of-36 as DU built a 38-13 halftime lead. Lewis set the tone early with a block, assist and dunk in the opening three minutes.

"I thought he was a monster today," said Duquesne head coach Jim Ferry. "He finished around the basket. He had a great defensive presence for us. He was our anchor which allowed us to guard the perimeter better."

Lewis, who was 5-of-5 from the field, had six blocks in the first half.

The Billikens missed 11 of their first 12 shots, and Duquesne made seven of its first 10 in jumping out to a 17-2 lead.

"Our guys really came out and responded," said Ferry referring to DU's 91-64 loss at George Washington on Saturday. "We had great senior leadership by D.C. [Colter] and Micah [Mason] and we came out with a disposition to respond. When you get beat like we got beat on the road, you challenge your program and I thought our guys really responded.

"We were really locked in defensively."

Mason scored 9 of his 15 and Colter and Lewis had 8 each in the first half.

Duquesne substituted liberally in the second half as SLU, which shot .581 after intermission, managed to cut the lead to 10 in the final minute.

Duquesne, which entered the game shooting .365 in conference play, finished at .491. Saint Louis shot .328.

The Dukes, who outrebounded the Billikens 43-33, outscored SLU 34-14 in the paint.

TySean Powell had 10 points and 8 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench for Duquesne. Jordan Robinson added a career-high 8 rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

Duquesne hosts St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 6:00 p.m. The game, which will be televised by ASN, is also DU's annual "Red Out". All fans in attendance will receive a commemorative red T-shirt upon entry.

NOTES
• Duquesne is now 8-1 at home.

• Saint Louis' 13 first half points were the fewest by a DU opponent since Savannah State scored 13 in the first half of a 58-44 loss to the Dukes on Dec. 5, 2009 ... the 13 points in a half were the fewest by a DU opponent in the Jim Ferry Era (previous under Ferry was 15 by George Mason in the first half of a 62-53 DU win on Jan. 31 of last season).

• Darius Lewis, who had a career-high 7 blocks in the last meeting with Saint Louis in the first round of last year's A-10 Championship, added 7 more rejections in 18 minutes ... he had 6 blocks at the half ... Lewis was 5-of-5 from the field in posting his fifth double-digit scoring game this season with 10 points.

• Jordan Robinson finished with a career-high 8 rebounds in 12 minutes ... his previous career rebound high was 6 set vs. George Washington last year.

• Duquesne's largest lead was 33 (71-38) with 8:03 left ... the game's lone tie came at 2-2.