UMobile Men Fall 63-69 To #11 Xavier

NEW ORLEANS, La-- No. 11 Xavier University slipped past the University of Mobile 69-63 in NAIA men's basketball action Monday evening.

Mobile (9-9, 2-1) will host Spring Hill College Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 pm in a conference tilt.

Donte Walker poured in 22 points thanks to a 15-of-16 effort from the charity stripe, while Matthew Turner added 13 points and 8 boards for the Rams.

Jeremy Lee led Xavier with 15 points, while Anthony Simmons added 13.

Mobile shot only 33% from the floor and 2-of-11 from 3-point range, while Xavier hit 54% of its shots and knocked down 3-of-6 from deep. Mobile finished 31-of-43 from the free throw line, while Xavier hit 26 free throws on 38 attempts.

The Rams started off slow in the opening half, shooting only 29% from the floor and allowing Xavier to build a 36-26 lead at the break. Xavier led from the start and used an 8-0 spurt to move a 7-4 advantage to a 15-4 lead.

In the final half, the Rams cut the deficit to 63-60 with 1:10 left on a bucket from Brock Dockery, but Xavier was able to knock down 4-of-6 from the free throw line over the next 46 seconds to hold on, while the Rams could not get on the board until Walker hit three free throws with eight seconds left.