PITTSBURGH – Chris Taft and Chevon Troutman controlled the inside and Carl Krauser led No. 13 Pittsburgh’s improved guard play in an 87-57 victory over city rival Duquesne on Saturday.

Taft had 16 points, Troutman added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Krauser scored 15 points to help Pittsburgh start 5-0 for the fifth consecutive season and the second time under coach Jamie Dixon.

The inside dominance of Troutman and Taft never allowed Duquesne (1-7) to consistently get the ball inside, repeatedly forcing the Dukes to settle for contested outside shots. Duquesne went 8-of-25 from 3-point range to 10-of-20 for Pittsburgh, which has improved its outside shooting after finishing 320th among the 326 Division I teams from beyond the arc last season.

Pitt is shooting 41 percent from 3-point range compared to 30.6 percent last season, when its weak outside shooting ultimately doomed it to a third consecutive loss in the NCAA round of 16.

Duquesne tried to keep it close, getting to 24-21 with just over five minutes left in the first half after trailing 10-3 and 22-11. But Pitt went on a 9-0 run, finished off by Taft’s dunk with 11:27 remaining, and the Panthers increasingly built their lead after that – even as Dixon emptied his bench.

Jack Higgins scored 17 points in a reserve role for Duquesne – the fifth consecutive Pitt opponent to be held to fewer than 60 points – while Kieron Achara had 13 and Bryant McAllister scored 11. Antonio Graves had 12 points for Pitt.

In a 72-year-old rivalry that regularly attracted crowds of 15,000-plus to the Civic Arena in the early 1980s, Pittsburgh won for the fourth consecutive season and the 23rd time in 26 games. Duquesne had a 28-18 edge before Pitt took control about the time the Panthers joined the Big East Conference in 1982.

Right now, Duquesne’s troubles extend far beyond beating Pittsburgh. The Dukes have dropped six straight and are off to their worst start under fourth-year coach Danny Nee, the former Ohio University, Nebraska and Robert Morris coach. Nee is under contract through 2007-08, but is only 32-63 at Duquesne.

Duquesne has dropped its last 15 games against Top 25 teams since beating then-No. 16 Xavier 78-70 in Cincinnati on Jan. 25, 1997.

Pittsburgh won its 20th consecutive non-conference game and has an average winning margin of 28 points.

AP-ES-12-04-04 1823EST