Cincinnati, Ohio - Despite a career-high 24 points from junior forward Brian Conklin, Saint Louis fell just short of toppling Xavier as the Musketeers rallied for a 76-68 win Saturday. The triumph extended Xavier's Atlantic 10 Conference home winning streak to 37.

The Billikens opened the second half by making their first nine shots to turn a 31-24 deficit into a 40-36 lead. Rob Loe drilled a 3-pointer from the corner, and Conklin converted a feed from Dwayne Evans to draw SLU to 31-29. Xavier's Tu Holloway answered with a trey, but a jumper and a three-point play by Conklin pushed the Billikens into a 37-34 lead. Loe had an assist on another Conklin three-point sequence as SLU edged out to its biggest lead of the day 40-36 four minutes into the second half.

Holloway drained a 3-pointer, but Loe matched the XU guard with his own trey for a 45-41 Billiken lead. Xavier slowly crawled back into the game and forged a tie at 47-47 with just under 14 minutes to play. Cory Remekun hit one free throw as SLU kept a one-point lead, but the Musketeers sank two charity tosses to surge ahead. Loe scored inside off an assist from Remekun as the Billikens claimed a 50-49 advantage at the 13:10 mark.

Mark Lyons scored for XU as the Musketeers took a lead they would not surrender. Jordair Jett fed Conklin as the Bills trailed just 53-52. The Musketeers extended their margin to six, but Mike McCall sank a 3-pointer from the wing to draw SLU to 60-57 with six minutes remaining. Xavier's lead never grew to double-digits, but the Billikens were unable to get any closer.

Conklin hit 11-of-15 shots from the field en route to his 24 points, topping his previous career best of 22 against Bowling Green on Jan. 1, 2011. Loe drained every shot he took on the day. The freshman forward hit all five field goal attempts, including four from 3-point range, all four free throws and finished with 18 points. The Billikens helped themselves from the charity stripe and hit 18-of-20 at the line. Holloway led four Xavier players in double figures with 24 points.

The Billikens dip to 8-14 overall, 3-6 in the A-10. The Musketeers improve to 16-6 overall, 8-1 in the league. SLU returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 9, when it hosts La Salle for an 8 p.m. tip at Chaiftez Arena.