St. Louis Vs. Duquesne: Billikens Defense Chokes Dukes

The defense of the Saint Louis was too much for the Duquesne Dukes to handle, as the Red and Blue fell to the Billikens 68-41 at the Chaifetz Arena Saturday night.

The Dukes (12-8, 3-3 A10) failed to find a rhythm all night against the Billikens (15-4, 3-2 A10), shooting just 30.9 percent for the game. Eric Evans was the only Duke to reach double digits, scoring 12 points.

Though the Dukes stumbled out of the gate, falling behind 17-7, they would put together a run to take a 20-19 lead with 9:26 left in the first half. From there, the Billikens would go on a 18-6 run to end the half, taking a 37-26 lead into the locker rooms.

In the second half, the Dukes fell apart, being outscored by SLU 31-15.

Saint Louis was paced on offense by Dwayne Evans who had a game high 13 points. Brian Conklin, Kwamain Mitchell, and Kyle Cassity all chipped in with double-digit scoring themselves.

SLU's ability to win came from their stopping of B.J. Monteiro and Sean Johnson. Monteiro scored only six points, 10 below his season average, while Johnson was held to just one point the whole night.

Another culprits for the blowout was the lack of muscle from the team. The Dukes drew just 11 fouls and made only five trips to the line compared to SLU's 21.

The zone played by the Billikens, which has given Duquesne trouble over the years, forced the Dukes to take shots from the outside to which they would not convert as the Dukes shot only 26.7 percent from behind the arc.

The Dukes will now return home and have a week off before returning to action next Saturday against LaSalle.