Holloway has 21 as Xavier beats Saint Louis in A10

By TOM CANAVAN

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) Tu Holloway scored 21 points and Kenny Frease grabbed a big rebound and made two late free throws as Xavier advanced to the Atlantic 10 Conference title game with a 71-64 victory over Saint Louis on Saturday.

Freshman Dezmine Wells added 18 points and Mark Lyons had 14 for the third-seeded Musketeers (21-11), who will face fourth-seeded St. Bonaventure (19-11) Sunday for the league's automatic NCAA berth. The Bonnies beat eighth-seeded Massachusetts 84-80 in the first semifinal at Boardwalk Hall.

Xavier, which has been to six straight NCAA tournaments, won the earlier meeting this season 77-64.

Brian Conklin had 14 points for Saint Louis (25-7), which certainly will get its first NCAA bid since Rick Majerus became coach in 2007-08. The Billikens were last in the tournament in 2000.

Updated March 10, 2012