LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Just a few games into the season, its clear 11th-ranked Xavier has some work to do closing out games.The Musketeers nearly let a 16-point second-half lead disappear, but Trevon Bluiett hit some clutch free throws late to help them pull away from Northern Iowa for a 67-59 victory in the Tire Pros Invitational championship game Sunday night.The Panthers came within five points with 1:35 left while Xaviers offense struggled, but then the Musketeers (5-0) hit 9 of 10 free throws in the final 57 seconds. That stalled the rally by Northern Iowa, which seemed poised to overcome a double-digit deficit for the second time in as many games.Id like to have those last four or five minutes back, but its so early, Xavier coach Chris Mack said. Were a little bit better in terms of finishing the game, but we still have a ways to go in that department.Bluiett converted 5 of 6 free throws after missing some critical shots earlier that helped open the door for the comeback attempt.We kind of base everything on a next-play mentality, so you cant really worry over the past plays, said Bluiett, who finished with a game-high 21 points. My teammates do a good job of kind of helping me forget about that.After going into halftime with the game tied 30-30, the Musketeers started the second strong with Bluiett and Edmond Sumner leading the way. Sumner scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes.But once the Panthers (3-1) found their rhythm against Xaviers 1-1-3 zone and man-to-man defense, the game began to turn late. Jordan Ashton and Klint Carlson hit some big shots to bring Northern Iowa back, but the Musketeers showed poise just in time to pull away.Sometimes you get into the game and teams are maybe not what they seem like on film, but Xavier is every bit as good and in some ways even better, UNI coach Ben Jacobson said. We had a tremendous amount of respect for them even before this game and Ive got more now because they have so many ways they can beat you, offensively everybody can make plays.Now the two teams get to do it all over again when they meet Saturday at Xavier.Honestly, Im pretty excited, Bluiett said. They are good team and I think they are going to bring their A-game when they come back. They kind of have some motivation now and I think we will be ready for it, as well.BIG PICTUREN. Iowa: The Panthers are great 3-point shooters, but their shots were not falling consistently against Xavier. Morgan was the only shooter to show up on Sunday.Xavier: The Musketeers showed a variety of defenses to keep the Panthers off balance, switching from a 1-1-3 zone to man-to-man. Xavier has plenty of fire power on offense with J.P Macura and Quentin Goodin hitting big shots throughout the game.POLL IMPLICATIONSXavier: A win over previously unbeaten Northern Iowa could help the Musketeers standing.DOUBLING DOWNXavier consistently sent double teams at Northern Iowas Bennett Koch in the post in order to limit him, and it worked.Koch was just 4 of 8 from the field for 11 points and turned the ball over six times in the paint.ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMUNIs Jeremy Morgan joined Bluiett and Macura on the all-tournament team along with Oklahomas Jordan Woodard and Davidsons Jack Gibbs. Bluiett was the tournament MVP after scoring 56 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and getting seven assists over the three games. Morgan led UNI with 20 points in this one.UP NEXTN. Iowa: The Panthers travel to Cincinnati to face Xavier again on Saturday.Xavier: The Musketeers host Northern Iowa on Saturday. Swell Traveler Uk . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Swell Bottle Uk Stockist . PAUL, Minn. http://www.ukswellbottle.com/swell-marble-bottle-sale-uk.html . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Swell Water Bottle Sale . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Black Swell Bottle . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Even for a veteran like Ron Hainsey, there is always an opportunity for a career first.Jaccob Slavin scored the only goal of the shootout to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.Jeff Skinner and Hainsey scored in regulation for Carolina, which ended a two-game losing streak. Cam Ward finished with 25 saves through overtime and denied all three Nashville attempts in the shootout.Hainsey, playing his 845th NHL game, tied the score at 8:22 of the third with his first career short-handed goal.Youve got to step up and make a big play in close games, and thats what happened on the penalty kill, Carolina coach Bill Peters said. Thats a huge play right there. Now you know youve got a point out of it, and you go to overtime looking for the other point.On the play, Hainsey took a pass in the slot from Elias Lindholm and drove to the net and slipped the puck between goalie Pekka Rinnes pads.We were going to have to get one, Hainsey said. If you keep scoring one goal, no matter how you do it, youre going to have to get them on the power play, youre going to have to score two or three to win consistently. We did that early and we found a way to get points.James Neal and Matt Irwin had the goals for the Predators, losers of two consecutive games -- both in shootouts. Rinne stopped 23 shots.Nashville is in last place in the tough Central Division.Its concerning where were at, Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. Its concerning with the inconsistency. Its not good enough. Thats the bottom line.Irwin put Nashville ahead 2-1 with 2:55 lleft in the second as his shot from the left point through traffic beat Ward on the stick side.dddddddddddd It gave Irwin, who began this season with Milwaukee of the AHL and was recalled Oct. 24, a goal in three straight games -- matching a career high.Neal scored the games first goal at 9:44 of the opening period. From inside the Nashville zone, Colin Wilson made a stretch pass to Neal just outside the Carolina blue line. With Hurricanes defenseman Ryan Murphy trailing, Neal cut to the right side and beat Ward for his second of the season.Skinner tied it 1-1 with 6:35 left in the second with a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat Rinne on the stick side.First period they came with a good push and Ward kept us in there, made some big saves, Skinner said. Second period, we were able to roll around there. It was going either way and Ward again made some big saves. He was big in the shootout and OT.It was the second consecutive game that Nashville carried a 2-1 lead into the third period only to lose the game in a shootout. The Predators had the same result Thursday night in Arizona, which was the final game of Nashvilles recent five-game road swing.Game notes Hurricanes RW Lee Stempniak played in his 800th career NHL game. ... Nashville C Mike Fisher missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury. ... Rinne is 6-1-1 in his career against Carolina.UP NEXTHurricanes: Host New Jersey on Sunday.Predators: Host Ottawa on Tuesday night. ' ' '