William Carey rallies past Gold Rush in second half
January 23, 2010

Box score

     NEW ORLEANS — Cory Smith scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half Saturday to rally William Carey in a 53-48 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Xavier University of Louisiana.
     The Crusaders (13-3 overall, 4-2 GCAC) defeated the Gold Rush (10-8, 1-5) for the first time since 2004 and snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series.
     William Carey trailed 24-19 at halftime, then took the lead for good at 38-37 on Smith's basket with 8:23 remaining. Smith made two free throws at 5:44 to make it 45-39.
     Xavier, losing for the sixth time in seven games, never came closer than two points in the final five minutes.
     Drew Meyerchick added 10 points for William Carey, and Brandon Cooks had nine points and eight rebounds.
     Michael Harvey scored 15 points for Xavier, and Devin Andrew had 11.
     Landon Bussie's free throw with 32 seconds remaining in the first half gave Xavier its biggest lead, 24-17, and capped an 18-6 run.
     Both teams scored their fewest points in a game this season. William Carey committed 22 turnovers but outshot Xavier 38 to 31 percent from the floor, 52 to 24 percent in the second half.
     It was the second straight loss for Xavier at The Barn after winning 22 of 25 in its campus gym.
     Xavier's next game will start at 7:30 p.m. Monday against city and GCAC opponent Loyola at The Barn.