Fisk defeats XU to put Gold Rush in 1st-place tie in GCAC

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Darrell Miller's basket with four seconds remaining Monday broke a tie and lifted Fisk to a 77-75 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against NAIA No. 11 Xavier University of Louisiana.

The Gold Rush (21-6 overall, 8-3 GCAC) lost sole possession of first place in the conference. Xavier shares the lead with Philander Smith, a 97-68 winner at home against Dillard.

Nick Haywood missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Xavier, which dropped consecutive games for the first time this season. Haywood's 2-pointer with 18 seconds remaining tied the score at 75.

Brandyn Mungo scored 17 points, Bradley Grayson 15 and Cameron Lewis 10 for Fisk (7-16, 3-8), which completed a two-game regular-season sweep of the Gold Rush. Miller scored nine points.

Anthony Simmons scored 15 points -- he was 7-of-7 from the floor -- and Renard Smith scored 12 for Xavier. Denzell Erves and Wanto Joseph scored 12 points each.

Fisk led 37-32 at halftime and held its biggest lead, 63-57, after Mungo's basket with 6:45 remaining. Xavier's largest lead in each half was five points.

Xavier lost despite shooting 56.9 percent from the floor. Fisk shot 51.1 percent, made nine 3-pointers -- three each by Mungo and Grayson -- and made 20-of-28 free throws. Xavier made 11-of-22 free throws, 5-of-13 in the second half.

It was Xavier's second consecutive road loss after winning 10 of its first 11 on the road this season.

Xavier will travel to city rival SUNO on Saturday for a 7 p.m. game at The Castle. SUNO athletics director Elston King confirmed Monday that starting time, along with a 5 p.m. matchup between Xavier's and SUNO's women. Xavier schedules have listed the starting times as 2 and 4 p.m.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS