Jordair Jett scored all 16 of his points in the second half and Mike McCall, Jr. added 15 to help the Saint Louis Billikens win its eighth straight and take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 with a 76-62 victory over No. 24 VCU on Tuesday night. Saint Louis (20-5, 9-2) holds a half-game advantage over No. 15 Butler (21-6, 9-3), and the Billikens will visit Butler on Friday. SLU defeated the Bulldogs at home 75-58 on Jan. 31.

The Rams were averaging an Atlantic-10 best, 78.1 points, but the Billikens’ league-leading defense (57.8 ppg)held the Rams without a field goal for more than 10 minutes, and allowed just eight baskets during the first half. The Billikens built a 38-21 halftime lead.

VCU found its stroke to start the second half, as the Rams made their first five shots, but could only cut the lead to 11 points.