ST. LOUIS - Eric Williams Jr. scored a career-high 40 points but it wasn't enough as Duquesne (19-11, 10-7) was outscored by 13 in the second half in an 85-75 defeat at Saint Louis (19-11, 10-7).

Williams Jr., who hit a season-high seven 3-pointers, was joined in double digits by freshman guard Sincere Carry, who was in uniform for the first time since Feb. 16 following a knee injury, with 13 points. Carry added four steals for the Dukes.

Williams Jr., who went 15-of-20 from the field and 7-of-9 from the 3-point arc, scored 27 in the second half. His 40 points were the most by a Duke since Aaron Jackson scored 46 in a 116-108 double-overtime loss at Virginia Tech in the 2009 NIT.

The 40 points were the most in a regulation game since Mark Stevenson had 44 in an Atlantic 10 Tournament win over Saint Joseph's at the Palestra on March 3, 1990.

Tramaine Isabell Jr. had 39 points for Saint Louis.

The win gave SLU a season split with the Dukes, who defeated the Billikens 77-73 in Pittsburgh on Jan. 23.

Duquesne led by nine three times in the first half, the last of which came at 34-25, before the Billikens scored the last six points of the half to make it 34-31.

SLU took its first lead since 13-12 on the second of two Travis Bess free throws that made it 37-36 with 17:17 left.

Saint Louis went on an 11-0 run, fueled by six points from Isabell, to turn a two-point deficit into a 50-41 lead before Williams Jr., who scored DU's first 10 points of the half, made it 50-44 with his fifth 3-pointer.

The Dukes, who opened the half 4-of-18, fell behind 55-44 when Travis Bess converted a pair of free throws with nine minutes left.

DU, which was outrebounded 36-16 in the second half, could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

SLU, which ended up outrebounding the Dukes 50-38, outscored DU 22-11 in second chance points and 22-7 off turnovers. The Billikens had 20 of their 24 offensive rebounds in the second half.

Duquesne concludes the Atlantic 10 regular season at home vs. Dayton on Saturday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+). It will be DU's final game in the A.J. Palumbo Center, which is set to undergo an extensive renovation beginning later this month.

The Department of Athletics is offering a pair of ticket specials for the Dayton game: two end zone tickets for $19 and a Buckets and Brews (one game ticket and two drink tickets) for fans 21 and older.

NOTES

• Williams Jr.'s previous career high was 34 in a double-overtime win over George Mason last year. The 40 points were the most in a regulation game since Mark Stevenson had 44 in an Atlantic 10 Tournament loss to Saint Joseph's on March 3, 1990.
• Freshman Sincere Carry was back in uniform (knee) for the first time since the Feb. 16 George Washington game. Carry finished with 13 points, three assists and four steals in 34 minutes.
• Marcus Weathers finished with a career-high six assists for the Dukes.
• There were two ties and five lead changes … Saint Louis's largest lead was 12 at 85-73 with 13 seconds left ... Duquesne's largest lead was nine, which it reached three times, the last coming at the 1:43 mark of the first half … Saint Louis led for 17:00 … Duquesne led for 22:23 … the game was tied for 0:37.