Rush rally from 18 down but lose on late free throws

XULA men's basketball team with retired LeMoyne-Owen coach
Jerry C. Johnson, 97 years young, at the JCJ Classic Breakfast.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Rashawn Brown, fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer with three-tenths of a second remaining, made 2-of-3 free throws Thursday to give LeMoyne-Owen a 65-63 men's basketball victory against NAIA No. 17 Xavier University of Louisiana in the Jerry C. Johnson Classic.
     
The Gold Rush (9-4) trailed by 18 points late in the first half but rallied to tie the score twice in the final 30 seconds.
     
Brown made his free throws after Xavier's Gary Smith made a driving layup to tie the score at 63 with nine seconds remaining.
     
Brown scored 14 points, Larry McGaughey 13, Justin Street 12 and Johnnie McGhee 11 for the Magicians (4-6), who won their fourth straight.
     
Morris Wright scored a season-high 26 points for Xavier — he made five 3-pointers for the third time this season — and led the Gold Rush in scoring for the 16th consecutive game. Freshman Kevin Murphscored a career-high nine points, all in the second half, and was 3-of-3 on 3-pointers. Murph entered the game with two 3-pointers in eight games.
     
Dontarion Wright's 3-pointer at 3:56 of the first half gave LeMoyne-Owen a 33-15 lead. Xavier reduced the deficit to 37-26 by halftime, then used a 14-2 run to get within striking distance in the final eight minutes. The only Gold Rush opportunity to take the lead came with 7:17 remaining, when Murph missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with LeMoyne-Owen leading 53-52.
     
LeMoyne-Owen shot 46.5 percent from the floor — the highest this season by an XU opponent — and Xavier shot 44.4. Both teams were more accurate on 3-pointers, with Xavier making 8-of-17 and the Magicians sinking 6-of-12. The teams missed 12 free throws apiece. Xavier, which shot 79.3 percent from the line in its previous five games, was 15-of-27 overall, 9-of-17 in the second half.
     
Xavier and LeMoyne-Owen split their two-game season series. The Gold Rush won 71-62 for homecoming Nov. 21. It was Xavier's first loss in five games this season against NCAA Division II opponents.
     
Xavier will play Concordia (Ala.) at 4 p.m. Friday in this event. Concordia lost 74-69 to SUNO in the opening game.
     
NOTES:  It was the fourth consecutive XU game decided by five or fewer points. The Gold Rush are 2-2 during that time . . . Wright has reached 20 points seven times this season. His previous best in 2015-16 was 25 points against LeMoyne-Owen in November. No teammate this season has scored more than 17 points in a game . . . Xavier will meet Concordia for the first time since the 2012 Memphis HBCU Classic . . . 
Xavier is 1-4 on the road this season.

BOX SCORE 

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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