Rush fight the power, beat Talladega and grab GCAC lead
January 21, 2012

Box score

     NEW ORLEANS — Chris Iles and Denzell Erves scored 14 points apiece Saturday to lead NAIA No. 19 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 77-64 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Talladega.
     The Gold Rush (14-5 overall, 5-1 GCAC) won for the fourth straight time to tie a season high and for the seventh time in eight games. Xavier took sole possession of first place in the conference, a half-game ahead of Tougaloo and SUNO, which dropped out of first earlier in the day after its 96-88 loss at Philander Smith.
     Xavier won after a partial power outage at The Barn which occurred with 4:39 remaining and caused a 46-minute delay.
     Cordell Hadnot scored 10 points for Xavier, which led 39-36 at halftime.
     Kerry Harvis and Ivan Sostanic scored 18 points apiece for Talladega. Sostanic made 5-of-6 3-pointers.
     Tarium Taylor's 3-point play in the first minute of the second half tied the score at 39, and the Tornadoes grabbed their only lead of the half, 58-57, on Christopher Hyche's basket with 8:42 remaining. But Iles and Erves combined for all the points in an 11-2 run during the next five minutes.
     Xavier led 66-60 when about half the lights and both scoreboards lost power. The game was completed with partial lighting and a spare portable scoreboard and clock. The Gold Rush outscored Talladega 11-4 after the delay.
     Talladega made half its shots from the floor, but Xavier was close behind at 49 percent. The Gold Rush dominated at the line, making 24-of-27 free throws to the Tornadoes' 8-of-13. Xavier outrebounded Talladega 33-16.
     Xavier will visit Tougaloo at 7:30 Monday night.