It took overtime, but Xavier’s picked up its fifth win in its first six games after a 72-66 victory over Loyola on Tuesday night.
Nick Parker’s 3-pointer for Loyola with three seconds remaining tied the score at 63, but Xavier scored the first four points of overtime and never lost the lead. Xavier’s Sydney Coleman made 1-of-2 free throws at 4:48 and a basket at 2:44 for a 66-63 advantage.
With 21.6 seconds remaining and Xavier leading 68-66, Loyola’s Robert Lovaglio missed the first of two free throws, then was called for a lane violation on the second shot. Coleman followed with two free throws with 19.8 seconds remaining to give the Gold Rush a four-point lead, and Jarvis Thibodeaux tacked on two more free throws with 1.1 seconds to play.
Coleman finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
-Courtesy of XULA media relations