Gold Rush erase 24-point deficit, win 70-67 in overtime at Clark Atlanta

ATLANTA — Xavier University of Louisiana, trailing by 24 points in the 13th minute, rallied Sunday for a 70-67 overtime men’s basketball victory against Clark Atlanta.

The Gold Rush (6-3), a longtime NAIA member, won on the road against an NCAA Division II opponent for the second consecutive day. XULA matched the largest erased deficit in a victory in the program’s 81 seasons.

“This team is resilient!” XULA head coach Alfred Williams said. “There is absolutely no quit in this group.”

Calvin White’s basket at 7:38 of the first half gave the Panthers (0-4) a 31-7 lead. But three consecutive 3-pointers by Virgil Davison — at 7:10, 4:36 and 4:04 — helped XULA trim its deficit to 40-26 by halftime.

“After the win (Saturday) against Columbus State, we had Clark Atlanta’s attention, and they came ready for us,” Williams said.

William Loyd scored six points and Davison five in a 16-6 run to open the second half, and Loyd’s fast-break basket at 5:14 gave the Gold Rush a 54-52 advantage. There were six lead changes in the remainder of the second half, and Romaine Thomas made 1-of-2 free throws with 31 seconds remaining to tie the score at 60 and force overtime.

“Our press had given Clark Atlanta some problems in the first half. So we decided that if we were going to go down, we were going to go down swinging,” Williams said. “In the second half we won the first five minutes to cut the lead, and after 10 minutes, we made it a game.”

Overtime was full of streaks: XULA scored the first five points, Clark Atlanta scored the next seven, then the Gold Rush scored the final five. Ed Carter’s 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining put XULA ahead to stay, 68-67, and Cameron Dumas tacked on two free throws with 19 seconds remaining for the final points. The Panthers’ final two possessions ended in turnovers.

“A big difference maker were the XULA alumni that were in the house,” Williams said. “It was like a home game with all our alumni there. We really needed their support, and they showed up and showed out in a big way.”

Davison scored a game- and season-high 22 points for the Gold Rush. Loyd had 15 points and two blocks, and Carter scored 13. Dumas scored all five of his points in overtime. Freshman TJ Jones had four assists and four steals.

Thomas had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers, who are coached by former New Orleans Hornet George Lynch. White scored 13 points, Traylen Warren 12 and Tyler Singleton 10.

XULA outshot Clark Atlanta 51 to 46.4 percent from the floor and made 12-of-19 free throws to the Panthers’ 6-of-12. In the final 32 1/2 minutes, XULA shot 67.6 percent from the floor (23-of-34) and 53.3 percent on 3-pointers (8-of-15) after making 2-of-15 from the floor and 0-of-5 3s in the first 12 1/2 minutes.

Clark Atlanta shot 55.2 percent from the floor in the first half but 37 percent thereafter.

It was the second straight season that the teams went to overtime. The Panthers spoiled XULA homecoming with an 85-77 victory nearly a year ago after trailing by seven in the final five minutes of regulation.

XULA’s other victory after trailing by 24 occurred Dec. 2, 1996. The Gold Rush trailed 57-33 at halftime at Houston Baptist before winning 83-80 in regulation.

The next Gold Rush game will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday against NAIA No. 22 Wiley at XULA’s Convocation Center.