Iles on target again; Xavier wins at SUNO

NEW ORLEANS -- Senior point guard Chris Iles continued his torrid shooting and scored a career-high 18 points Monday to lead NAIA No. 25 Xavier University to a 73-62 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against SUNO at The Castle.

The Gold Rush (18-6 overall, 7-2 GCAC) climbed to second place in the conference and dropped the Knights (12-10, 8-3) to third.

Iles was 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Xavier made all seven of its shots from the floor -- including a trio of Iles 3-pointers and another by Kevin Miller -- during a five-minute burst which increased the Gold Rush lead from 48-39 to 66-45 with 3:02 remaining.

Iles is 16-of-24 on 3-pointers during Xavier's four-game win streak. The Gold Rush have won 8-of-9 games -- the loss was at GCAC leader Tougaloo a week ago -- and 11-of-13.

Denzell Erves had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high-tying three blocked shots for Xavier in his fourth double-double of the season. Wanto Joseph had 12 points, three assists and a career-best seven rebounds.

Clyde Moore had 18 points and seven rebounds for SUNO, and Devin White had 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots.

The Knights' only lead was at 6-5 in the third minute. Cordell Hadnot's basket at 17:03 of the half put Xavier ahead to stay. The Gold Rush led 36-29 at halftime.

Xavier outshot the Knights 53.8 to 40 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 40-28. Xavier gained a season split with its city rival after losing 67-64 in overtime on Jan. 10.

The Gold Rush will visit Talladega in a 7 p.m. GCAC game Saturday.

BOX SCORE

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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