Box Score      NEW ORLEANS — Newcomer Chris Iles scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half Saturday to lead NAIA No. 20 Xavier University of Louisiana in a 71-58 men's basketball victory against Webber International.
     The Gold Rush won its 15th consecutive season opener and scored 51 points after a halftime tie at 20.
     Iles, a junior point guard who transferred from NCAA Division I member Nicholls State, made 8-of-8 free throws in the final 43 seconds.
     Another Xavier newcomer, sophomore forward Anthony Simmons, had 12 points and eight rebounds. Devin Andrew scored 10 points, including a basket with 9:56 remaining to put the Gold Rush ahead to stay at 39-37.
     Preston Adams scored 15 points for Webber (0-2), and Junior Geidl and Tyler Auerbacher scored 11 apiece. The Warriors lost for the second straight day.
     Adams' 3-pointer with 16:16 remaining gave Webber its biggest lead, 29-22, then Simmons and Andrew scored six points apiece during an 18-2 run which gave Xavier a 51-39 lead with 5:35 remaining. The Gold Rush maintained its double-digit advantage the rest of the game.
     "I liked that we showed some resiliency in coming back in the second half and then holding on to the lead," eighth-year Xavier Coach Dannton Jackson said. "We got some things going with our transition offense, and we dominated the boards, which we wanted to do. It was a nice start that we can build on."
     Xavier outshot the Warriors 50 to 37 percent from the floor — 65 to 44 percent in the second half — and outrebounded them 40-27. The Rush committed 22 turnovers, four more than Webber. Eleven of 12 Xavier players scored, and newcomers accounted for 39 of Xavier's points.
     NOTES:  This was the earliest opener in Xavier's 73 seasons . . . Xavier has allowed less than 60 points in its last three openers — first time that's happened since 1949-51 . . . It was the 17th consecutive season that the Gold Rush opened at home . . . Xavier will travel to NCAA D-I Western Kentucky for a 7 p.m. Thursday exhibition, then return home for a 6 p.m. game next Saturday against Carver . . . Xavier, 4-0 all-time against Webber, will play the Warriors on Dec. 29 in the Miami Gardens Classic.