Erves is GCAC Player of the Week for third time this year

Denzell Erves

NEW ORLEANS — Denzell Erves, one of the leaders in Xavier University of Louisiana's drive to a second consecutive Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship in men's basketball, has been chosen GCAC Player of the Week. Erves has been honored a league-high three times this season in this sport, and he has won six times in his final two seasons.

Erves, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Vicksburg, Miss., and a graduate of Vicksburg High School, won the award for Feb. 18-24 after averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots and shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent from the line in two games, both XU victories. Erves produced his NAIA Division I-leading 16th double-double of the season (15 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high-tying six blocked shots) in Xavier's 75-54 victory at Tougaloo — the first Gold Rush victory at Tougaloo since 2005. Then he scored a game-high 17 points, 11 during a 16-3 run in the first six minutes, in Xavier's 70-46 home victory against city rival Dillard. During that run he became the 26th Gold Rush player to reach 1,000 careeer points.

Xavier (24-6) will play Dillard (3-20) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Ark.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

XULAATHLETICS