Saint Louis University Billikens Brian Conklin goes up and over Xavier Musketeers Travis Taylor for two points in the first half at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis on February 28, 2012. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Saint Louis hit Xavier with a 24-3 run to begin the second half, and the Billikens went on to defeat the Musketeers 70-59 Tuesday night in an Atlantic 10 Conference battle at Chaifetz Arena. The victory assured the Billikens (23-6, 11-4 A-10) of being no lower than the No. 2 seed for the A-10 Championship. SLU, which concludes the regular season Saturday at Duquesne, trails first-place Temple by one-half game. The Bills have won seven of their last eight games.
Senior forward Brian Conklin scored a game-high 23 points, just two short of his career high, to lead the way in his Chaifetz Arena finale. Conklin, who tallied 15 points in the second half, tied his career high with nine free throws (9-of-10) as the Billikens went 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the stripe. He added six rebounds.
Kwamain Mitchell netted 14 points, while Mike McCall Jr. collected 10 points, a career- and team-high seven rebounds and a game-high-tying four assists.
