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Iowa tops Xavier in overtime to stay unbeaten

Nov 29, 2013 - 5:31 AM Nassau, Bahamas (SportsNetwork.com) - Roy Devyn Marble poured in 30 points and fueled a second-half surge that lifted No. 23 Iowa to a 77-74 overtime victory over Xavier on Thursday in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament at Imperial Arena.

Xavier held a seemingly comfortable 55-42 cushion with just over 10 minutes left in regulation before Devyn Marble buried a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-0 Iowa spurt that brought the Hawkeyes within one with 7:22 on the clock.

With Devyn Marble unavailable down the stretch due to cramps, Gabriel Olaseni knocked down two free throws to bring Iowa within two before Mike Gesell's jumper following a Myles Davis turnover tied the game with 1:42 left in regulation.

Olaseni opened the extra session with two more free throws to give Iowa it's first lead of the game at 71-69 and the Hawkeyes held Xavier to just one field goal in the extra session to ensure the lead held up.

Despite the lack of field goals, Xavier still had a chance to force another overtime after Aaron White turned the ball over with just under 20 seconds left, but the Musketeers missed on three 3-point tries on their final possession, allowing the Hawkeyes to escape with the victory.

Zach McCabe contributed 11 points before fouling out, while Olaseni added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (6-0), who will face Texas-El Paso in the semifinals.

"Everybody that was out there contributed," Devyn Marble said. "I knew they were going to get it done, even though I went out. I told them to keep being aggressive."

Justin Martin scored a team-high 15 points to lead Xavier (5-1), with Semaj Christon chipping in 14 points in the setback.

Xavier scored 11 of the first 13 points of the game to build an early advantage and back-to-back buckets from Matt Stainbrook gave the Musketeers a 22-15 lead with just over seven minutes left in the first half.

A Devyn Marble 3-pointer 1:49 before halftime brought Iowa within four, but Christon countered with a triple of his own just before the break to send Xavier into the locker room holding a 37-30 lead.

The Musketeers extended the margin early in the second, opening the final frame on a 10-2 spurt that Christon capped with a three-point play to make it 47-32 with just under 16 minutes left in regulation.

Christon, however, left the contest shortly after due to cramps, leaving the door open for the Hawkeyes to make their game-changing run.

Game Notes

Iowa recorded 23 second-chance points, compared to 12 for Xavier ... Stainbrook scored 11 points and grabbed six boards for Xavier ... Xavier shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the field, despite going 1-for-9 from the floor in overtime ... Iowa shot 35.3 percent (24-of-68) from the field.