XULA Mart's dunk with 2.7 seconds left beats No. 10 Carey

At Convocation Center, @XUGOLDRUSH beat @NAIA No. 10 @CareyAthletics 74-73 on sophomore Rayshawn Mart's offensive rebound and dunk with 2.7 seconds remaining. #XULA men are 4-0 and ranked 23rd.#TeamGold #HailAllHailXU @_rayshawnmart #SCtop10 @ESPNSCTop10 pic.twitter.com/rksHcgUIA2

— XULA Athletics (@xulagold) November 6, 2018

NEW ORLEANS — Rayshawn Mart's offensive rebound and dunk with 2.7 seconds remaining Monday lifted Xavier University of Louisiana to a 74-73 victory against William Carey in a matchup of ranked NAIA men's basketball teams.
     
The Gold Rush (4-0), ranked 23rd, defeated a top-10 opponent for the first time since March 2016. The Crusaders (1-1) are ranked 10th.
     
Mart, a sophomore, made his second career winning shot after Ed Carter's missed layup. The Crusaders' Adrian Williams missed a desperation shot from midcourt as time expired.
     
"Rayshawn looked like he dunked on four people," XULA head coach Alfred Williams said. "He played big. He's a stat-stuffer for us. When he's playing well, he's hard to beat."
     
Johnell Lane made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points for XULA. Carter scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers, and Mart and William Loyd scored 11 apiece. Mart led the Gold Rush with five rebounds and six assists.
     
Mart scored a career-high 22 points in XULA's home opener four nights earlier.
     
Sheppard, Anthony Jones and Brandon Cranford combined to make 21-of-27 from the floor and score 56 points for William Carey. Sheppard and Jones scored 19 points apiece, and Cranford made 6-of-8 3-pointers for 18 points. Sheppard grabbed 12 rebounds.
     
William Carey led 38-33 at halftime. Both teams had eight-point leads in the second half. Cranford's 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining gave the Crusaders a 73-72 lead and capped an 11-2 run.

BOX SCORE
     
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor. XULA made 11 3-pointers for the third consecutive game.
     
"Getting tested this early in the season should help us the rest of the way," Williams said.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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