Xavier's 74-70 college basketball victory against the Charlotte 49ers at Halton Arena on Saturday left Musketeers coach Chris Mack feeling relieved.

"We got Charlotte's best tonight," Mack said of the 49ers (10-10, 2-5 Atlantic 10). "We certainly got Javarris Barnett's best."

Barnett, the 49ers' senior power forward, scored a career-high 27 points - including a near-flawless 7-of-8 from 3-point range. But they weren't enough for the 49ers to avoid their fifth consecutive loss and drop them into a 12th-place tie in the 14-team league with Fordham.

Xavier (14-7, 5-3) clinched the victory when point guard Tu Holloway made two free throws with 7.9 seconds left.

If there was anything the free-falling 49ers could take away from the loss, it was that they played better than they did in a 79-57 loss Wednesday against Temple. They also played a second game without point guard Pierria Henry, who is expected to be out another week with a knee injury.

"The Temple game left a bad taste in our mouths," said Barnett, a senior from Charlotte's Victory Christian. "We had two good practices and we played hard. There were a couple of plays here and there that cost us the game."

Barnett might have been speaking of three consecutive baskets by Xavier's Dez Wells after the 49ers had cut a Xavier lead to 62-60 on a Barnett 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 56 seconds left.

Wells, a freshman from Raleigh, punished the 49ers by scoring inside first, then grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring on the Musketeers' next two possessions.

Soon, Xavier was up 70-62 with 2:49 left. But the 49ers, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, had another run in them.

The 49ers cut it to 72-70 - scoring six consecutive points on a 3-pointer by Derrio Green, a baby hook by Chris Braswell and a free throw by small forward DeMario Mayfield.

But Holloway's free throws put it out of reach.

"We showed good resiliency," said 49ers coach Alan Major. "Those kinds of plays (by Wells) can be mentally draining. But we bounced back and had a chance down the stretch."

Braswell added 14 points for Charlotte, while Mayfield added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Holloway had 17 points and seven assists for the Musketeers, who outscored Charlotte 46-14 in the paint.

But the offensive story was Barnett, whose previous career high (26 points) came earlier this season against Coppin State.

"He was terrific," Major said. "It's a credit to the time he puts in. He earns the right to shoot the ball well. He manages his craft. We try to put guys in position to knock them in. He kept us going."

The 49ers go on the road for two conference games next week - at La Salle Wednesday and Fordham next Saturday. La Salle, which beat Duquesne 71-68 Saturday, is tied for first in the league with Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure.