NEW ORLEANS — City rival Loyola made 17 free throws in the final 11 minutes Saturday to pull away for a 91-80 victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in a matchup of ranked NAIA men's basketball teams at The Den.
        It was the opener for the Wolf Pack, ranked 16th, and the first loss of the season for 20th-ranked XULA (2-1).
        Senior guard Rayshawn Mart scored a season-high 31 points for XULA — the second time in his career he reached 30. Mart is averaging 28 points through three games this season.
        Loyola led 43-33 at halftime and took its largest lead, 52-37, on Andrew Fava's 3-pointer with 17:21 remaining. Mart's basket at 11:25 cut Loyola's lead to 59-58, but XULA never tied or took the lead thereafter.
        Makye Richard, with a season-high 16 points, was XULA's other double-figure scorer. Richard scored 12 in the second half, including 6-of-6 free throws. TJ Jones scored nine points and Kevin Norman eight for XULA, and Richard and Cameron Dumas had four steals apiece.
        Dumas, who played for Loyola two seasons ago, had a game-high five assists.
        Loyola had four double-figure scorers and was led by 6-foot-9 reserve Eddie Burgess, who was 7-of-9 from the floor and had 16 points. Myles Burns scored 15 points, Zach Wrightsil 13 and Matt Maturah 12 for the Wolf Pack. Maturah made 4-of-6 3-pointers, Burns had nine rebounds, and Wrightsil grabbed eight.
        The Wolf Pack's Tim Cameron scored all nine of his points in the final 11 minutes, including seven free throws. Loyola was one of the most prolific free-throw shooting teams in college basketball last season, averaging 32 attempts per game, and picked up where it left off. Loyola finished 28-of-38 at the line, 19-of-26 in the second half.
        XULA, meanwhile, was 0-of-4 on first-half free throws and 14-of-21 for the game.
        Loyola outshot XULA 54.9 to 41.4 percent from the floor and had a 40-29 rebound advantage. XULA was plus-11 on turnovers, committing a season-low nine and gaining 20, but Loyola owned a 17-15 advantage in points off of turnovers.
        XULA's last lead was 10-8 in the fifth minute.
        Mart was 11-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-6 on 3-pointers and 6-of-9 from the line in 37 minutes. He grabbed nine rebounds and had three assists. Mart is the only XULA man to score 25-or-more points in three consecutive games during the last 17 seasons.
        Mart scored 22 points in the second half.
        XULA will not play next week. The next game will start at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 — one week from Wednesday — against William Carey in Hattiesburg, Miss.