Rush rally from 16 down to beat 10th-ranked Carey in OT

NEW ORLEANS -- Sophomore guard Morris Wright scored six of his career-high 26 points in overtime Tuesday to help Xavier University of Louisiana rally for a 90-80 men's basketball victory against William Carey in a matchup of ranked NAIA Division I teams.

The Gold Rush (6-3), ranked 19th, trailed by 16 points in both halves but never trailed in overtime. Wright put Xavier ahead to stay, 80-78, with two free throws at 3:48. It was the first Xavier lead since the fourth minute.

Wright, who scored 20 points after halftime, made two free throws with 57 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 78. He forced overtime when he blocked Jeremiah Dunnings' attempted layup at the buzzer.

Anthony Goode scored a career-high 17 points for Xavier. Xavier Rogers scored 16 points, Sydney Coleman 14 and RJ Daniels 10. Coleman grabbed 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in five games.

Daron Bell had 27 points, seven assists and seven steals for 10th-ranked William Carey (4-1), and Dunnings scored 23.

"I am proud of our players," XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "They found a way to win. This was a game about toughness. We showed resiliency. We played together."

Wright set a school record for free-throw accuracy by making all 14 of his attempts. The previous best was 12-of-12 by Jonathan Harper and Timothy Green in separate games in December 2003.

Xavier limited William Carey, which entered the game shooting 55 percent from the floor, to 41.5 percent. The Crusaders shot 64.3 percent in building a 47-33 halftime lead but shot 16 percent after the break. After making 7-of-11 3-pointers in the first half, the Crusaders went 0-of-9 in the final 25 minutes -- 0-of-5 in overtime.

"We got some big defensive stops in the second half," Jackson said. "And offensively, we stopped settling for jump shots. We took the ball to the basket."

A 15-1 run gave the Crusaders a 17-6 lead through seven minutes. They led by 16 in the final minute of the first half and again at 18:38 of the second half when Kelvin Mixon made 1-of-2 free throws for a 49-33 advantage. But Xavier rallied, getting 15 points from Goode in the final 11 minutes of regulation.

"We played until exhaustion, which is the way you're supposed to play," Jackson said.

Xavier shot 47.5 percent from the floor -- 53.1 percent after halftime -- and made 30-of-36 free throws to William Carey's 29-of-38. The teams committed a combined 58 fouls, and five players fouled out.

The victory was the first for the Rush against a top-10 team since January 2008. Xavier and William Carey will meet again Feb. 11 in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Xavier's next game will start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Mobile at the Convocation Center.

Box score

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