Gold Rush 9-2 after beating Florida Memorial
December 29, 2009

Box score

     MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Michael Harvey scored 15 points Tuesday and helped Xavier University of Louisiana rally in the second half for a 56-46 men's basketball victory over Florida Memorial in the Miami Gardens Classic.
     Ryan DeRousselle added 11 points and Cordell Hadnot 10 for the Gold Rush (9-2), which trailed 28-26 at halftime but outscored Florida Memorial 19-9 in the final 13 minutes.
     DeRousselle passed to Dannie Woods for a layup with 12:12 remaining to put the Rush ahead to stay, 39-37. Harvey's 3-pointer, his third of the game, made it 44-39 at 8:18.
     Xavier, the NAIA Division I leader in field-goal percentatge defense, outshot the Lions 51 to 35 percent from the floor — 50 to 25 percent in the second half — and outrebounded them 37-29. Hadnot led the Rush with nine rebounds.
     Jason Anthony, with 10 points, was the only double-figure scorer for Florida Memorial. The Lions (2-10) have lost six straight.
     DeRousselle's two free throws capped a 10-0 run which gave Xavier a 20-13 lead at 9:05 of the first half, but the Lions closed the period with a 15-6 run to grab the lead.
     The teams shot a combined 46 percent from the line. Xavier made 11-of-21 free throws, and Florida Memorial made 7-of-18.
     Saint Francis (Ind.) defeated St. Thomas (Fla.) 92-74 in the first game. Xavier will play St. Thomas at 6 p.m. Wednesday.