St. Thomas routs Gold Rush in Miami Gardens Classic
December 30, 2009

Box score

     MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Antonio Jones, the NAIA Division II scoring leader, had 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists Wednesday to lead St. Thomas (Fla.) to a 79-61 men's basketball victory over Xavier University of Louisiana in the Miami Gardens Classic.
     Jones, a senior guard who is averaging 27.8 points, scored 13 in the first half to lead the Bobcats (4-6) to their first victory in the Fernandez Center, which opened in October. St. Thomas had lost its first two games in the facility.
     Michael Harvey scored 18 points, Cordell Hadnot 11 and Devin Andrew 10 for Xavier (9-3). Harvey, who averaged 16.5 points in two games, was named to the five-player all-tournament team.
     Both teams were 1-1 in the event. Saint Francis (Ind.) defeated Florida Memorial 78-71 to finish 2-0.
     St. Thomas led 36-28 at halftime and held 20-point leads twice in the second half.
     Xavier entered the game as the NAIA Division I leader in field-goal percentage defense (.358), but St. Thomas shot 53.2 percent from the floor. The previous best by a Xavier opponent this season had been 40.7 percent.
     St. Thomas became the first Xavier opponent to score more than 67 points this season.
     The Gold Rush shot 42.9 percent from the floor but cooled after shooting 50 percent in the opening half.
     Also on the all-tournament team were Jones, DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis and Brad Sneary of Saint Francis and Matthew Rolle of Florida Memorial. Sawyer-Davis was the most valuable player.
     Xavier's next game will be its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at sixth-ranked LSU-Shreveport.