Gold Rush 7-1 after home win over Philander Smith
December 4, 2009

Box score

     NEW ORLEANS — Devin Andrew scored 14 points Friday and did not miss a second-half shot to help Xavier University of Louisiana hold off Philander Smith for a 69-60 men's basketball victory.
     It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Gold Rush (7-1), which will play its next six games on the road after playing its first eight at home.
     Andrew scored 10 second-half points and was 3-of-3 from floor and 4-of-4 from the line. He made the free throws in the final 24 seconds after Philander Smith (4-3) trimmed a 16-point deficit to five by the final minute.
     Reserves Cordell Hadnot and DeRonn Scott also scored in double figures for Xavier, which played for the first time in 11 days. Hadnot scored 11 points — nine in the second half — and Scott had a career-high-tying 10.
     Brandon Bell made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Panthers. Gavin Jones scored 12, and Carlos Collier had 11.
     Xavier had 11-0 and 12-0 first-half runs but still led by just 32-25 at the break after Bell and Jones combined for 22 points for the Panthers. The Rush led twice by 16 in the second half, the last time at 59-43 on Scott's basket at 4:56.
     Bell and Collier scored eight points during the next 4½ minutes to close to 65-60 with 29 seconds remaining, but Andrew clinched the victory with free throws. Andrew finished 6-of-6 from the line and is 35-of-39 for the season. He's 9-of-9 in the past two games.
     Xavier outshot the Panthers 43 to 31 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 50-30. Hadnot and Ryan DeRousselle each grabbed nine for the Rush, and DeRousselle's total was a career high.
     Philander Smith, an NAIA Division II school, dressed eight players, and none of its reserves scored. Xavier's bench combined for 32 points.
     Xavier beat Philander Smith for the third time in four seasons and leads the series 5-0. The Rush won at The Barn for the 22nd time in 25 games dating to February 2008.
     Xavier's next game will start at 2 p.m. Dec. 12 against Texas College — the only team to defeat the Rush this season — in the Wiley Classic at Marshall, Texas. Philander Smith, loser of two straight after a four-game winning streak, will remain in the city and play SUNO at 5 p.m. Saturday.