Duquesne's Bryant McAllister plays the game with a poker face, often masking his emotion.

"My facial expression is kind of plain, that throws the coaches off sometimes," said McAllister, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to lift Duquesne (7-19) to a 77-72 victory against La Salle (8-17) in an Atlantic 10 Conference game last night at the Palumbo Center.

"I didn't feel like I wasn't playing hard. I told coach I was ready to play."

But Duquesne coach Danny Nee played McAllister only 10 minutes in the first half.

"McAllister had a very poor first half," Nee said. "He had some bad luck and some fouls, then went south. I thought he was magnificent in the second half."

He came out of the locker room charged up, and his teammates fed off his renewed enthusiasm.

"I saw my energy pick up because he was going so hard," Martin Osimani said. "He set the tempo."

Duquesne did what it does best down the stretch to end a five-game losing streak: Make free throws.

The Dukes, ranked seventh in the country before the game at 76.7 percent from the line, were 9 of 10 in the final 48.6 seconds to hold off an onslaught of 3-pointers by Jermaine Thomas.

McAllister was 7 of 8 and Chauncey Duke 2 of 2 as the Explorers traded fouls for 3-pointers. Thomas, who had a game-high 33 points, made four 3-pointers to spur La Salle's late comeback and was 7 of 8 from beyond the arc.

La Salle's Steven Smith had 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 turnovers and 2 steals.

In addition to making free throws, McAllister had 8 rebounds and a career-high 9 assists.

"I'm kind of cocky on the line," said McAllister, a 6-foot-3 junior guard from West Mifflin. "I'm talking, having fun."

The Dukes enjoyed themselves for a change thanks to a 44-29 rebounding advantage and contributions from their reserves. Tyler Bluemling had a season-high 11 points, Keith Gayden 7 points and 9 rebounds and Jack Higgins 9 points.

The Dukes went on runs of 11-0 and 16-1 to go in front, 68-61, with 58 seconds left after Thomas' 3-pointer pushed La Salle's lead to 60-52 at 6:48.

"Both teams played much better than their records indicate," Nee said.

With the win, Duquesne is 4-9 and fifth in the Atlantic 10 West, a half-game ahead of last-place La Salle (4-10). Duquesne swept the two-game season series from the Explorers, winning, 72-67, in Philadelphia three weeks ago.

"To me, this win is great," said Osimani, who gave the Dukes a spark with 8 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal.

"We've only got seven all year. I'll take any one. I'm enjoying myself."

Osimani was involved in a critical play when he stripped the ball out of Smith's hands and was fouled intentionally by Smith in the backcourt with the Dukes looking at a fastbreak opportunity. Osimani made both free throws to increase Duquesne's lead to 67-61 with 2:40 to play.