Loyd rallies Gold Rush to 65-51 victory against SUNO

NEW ORLEANS — William Loyd did not miss a shot in the second half Wednesday as he rallied Xavier University of Louisiana to a 65-51 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory against city rival SUNO at the Convocation Center.

The Gold Rush (16-13, 7-6) will close the regular season in a 7:30 p.m. GCAC home game Monday against Philander Smith, then travel to Jacksonville, Fla., as the No. 5 seed in the GCAC Tournament March 1-3.

Loyd had game highs of 23 points, nine rebounds and four steals. In the second half Loyd scored 16 points on 6-of-6 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws.

XULA trailed 26-19 in the 17th minute and 28-24 at halftime, then outscored the Knights 41-23 in the second half. Damani Flanagain’s two free throws with 9:57 remaining put XULA ahead to stay at 43-42.