Xavier continues to make a push to prove to people that it is one of the elite teams in the country as it jumped to No. 9 in the newest Associated Press poll. With the Musketeers 57-51 win at Dayton on Sunday, the team clinched a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title, a 10-game winning streak, and their first top 10 ranking since 1997. Dayton kept the game extremely close in the first half, tying the game five times, but never taking the lead. They went into the break down two. In the second half, both teams came out firing, but Xavier stayed hot longer and built a 10-point lead with fewer than 13 minutes left. Neither team will take the floor again until Saturday, when Xavier hosts George Washington in another tune-up before the A-10 Tournament and Dayton travels to Fordham. This is a must-win game for the Flyers as they currently sit at 12th in the conference, the last seed that qualifies for the tournament.

Lutz breaks record Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz broke the school’s record for all-time victories with 183 as the 49ers beat Saint Louis, 81-64, Saturday. Lutz broke the record of Jeff Mullin, who preceded him in the program as head coach. The beginning of the game was dominated on the offensive side of the floor. Neither team seemed to miss a shot, combining for 9-of-13 from 3-point range. In the second half the Billikens couldn’t keep the pace, and they fell behind by 11 early before a rally to get the game within two. The 49ers responded with a 9-0 run to eventually open up a 17-point lead. The 49ers were led by An’Juan Wilderness, Charlie Cooley and Michael Gerrity, each of whom scored 14 points. This was only the sixth time this season the 49ers played a game that was decided by fewer than seven points. Tommie Liddell III led the Billikens with 18 points in the loss. SLU got little help from anyone else, and the team’s 2-for-12 shooting from 3-point range in the second half significantly hurt its chances of making a comeback. They will look to rebound at Saint Joseph’s on Thursday. Harris looks toward A-10 record La Salle’s Darnell Harris made a career-high eight 3-pointers in Thursday’s overtime win against Dayton, giving him 319 on the season, a school record. Harris sits 12 behind former Massachusetts sharpshooter Monty Mack for the A-10 all time record. Harris led his team with 26 points, and Rodney Green added 17 as the Explorers came back from a seven-point deficit late to force overtime. In the extra period they didn’t defend much better, and the Flyers continued their hot shooting, connecting on 56 percent from the field to take a five-point lead with under a minute to go. Harris made his two biggest shots from behind the line in the last minute, and Yves Mekongo Mbala hit two free throws to make it a three-point lead. The Explorers are sitting in a three-way tie for third in the conference, with Richmond and Temple, half a game ahead of UMass and a game ahead of Charlotte.

A-10 weekly awards Each leading their team to two victories this past week, Harris and UMass’s Chris Lowe were named the A-10 Players of the Week. This is the first time either player has won the award this season. Harris led the Explorers to wins against St. Joe’s and Dayton. He added 23.5 points per game in the two efforts, shooting 13-of-25 from behind the arc. In addition, he has not turned the ball over in his last 73 minutes played. Lowe recorded two double-doubles and averaged 17 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games. In his game against SLU, he handed out a career-high 13 assists. Sam Grossack can be reached at [email protected].