Feb. 24, 2008

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DAYTON, Ohio (AP & UD Athletics Communication) -- Brian Roberts scored 15 points and Charles Little added nine off the bench, but it was not enough as Dayton fell to No. 10 Xavier, 57-51 in front of a sold-out UD Arena on Sunday.

Josh Duncan scored 14 points, and Drew Lavender made four free throws in the final 35 seconds as the Musketeers' secured their 10th straight win and assured themselves of at least a share of the Atlantic 10 championship.

Lavender finished with nine points for Xavier (24-4, 12-1 Atlantic 10). Lavender, who had been playing with a sprained left ankle that limited his movement and interfered with his shooting, played 33 minutes.

Dayton (17-9, 5-8 A-10) trailed 29-27 at halftime and stayed close until a free throw by Duncan, a basket by Dante Jackson and a pair of free throws by Jason Love gave Xavier a 41-31 lead with 12:44 to play.

The Flyers put together a 6-0 run to challenge as Roberts and Charles Little each sank a pair of free throws, and Kurt Huelsman muscled a basket underneath to make it 45-42 with 7:09 to play.

That's when Duncan returned, despite four fouls, and he and Lavender and a stingy Xavier defense held off Dayton the rest of the way

It's Xavier longest streak since setting a school record with 16 straight during the 2002-2003 season.

The Flyer defense forced the Musketeers into 15 turnovers and out rebounded XU 30-28, but could not make up for a 48.6 percent to 37.7 percent deficit in shooting from the floor overall.

Dayton leads the series 80-65, but Xavier has won the past five, including a 69-43 win last month in Cincinnati. The Flyers started the season 14-2 but have lost seven of their past 10.