XU Rush win at Tougaloo, remain tied for first in GCAC

WANTO JOSEPH

TOUGALOO, Miss. -- Wanto Joseph scored 22 points Monday to lead NAIA No. 14 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 75-54 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory at Tougaloo.

The Gold Rush (23-6 overall, 10-3 GCAC) remained in a first-place tie in the conference with Philander Smith, a 65-58 winner at home against Talladega.

Both leaders will conclude the regular season at home Saturday -- Xavier against Dillard, and Philander Smith against Fisk.

Xavier shared the GCAC regular-season championship with Tougaloo a year ago.

Denzell Erves had 15 points and 12 rebounds -- his 16th double-double of the season -- for Xavier. Teammate Renard Smith had his first -- 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds -- and Anthony Simmons barely missed that distinction, finishing with nine points and 12 rebounds.

Erves tied his career high with six blocked shots, four in the first half.

Cordaryl Campbell scored 15 points and Juan Gray 14 for Tougaloo (7-17, 4-9). Campbell was 5-of-16 from the floor and committed eight turnovers.

The Bulldogs led 19-14 in the 13th minute, then Xavier scored the next nine points -- the last four by Joseph -- to take the lead for good. The Gold Rush led 29-23 at halftime, and the final margin was Xavier's largest of the game. Xavier led by double digits for the final 14:44.

Joseph scored 16 second-half points and finished in double figures for the 28th time in 29 games. He made 10-of-11 free throws. It was Joseph's sixth 20-point game of the season.

Xavier outshot Tougaloo 35.5 to 28.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bulldogs 53-28. Both teams committed 17 turnovers. Xavier made 27-of-35 free throws, and the Bulldogs made 17-of-26.

Xavier won at Tougaloo's Kroger Gym for the first time since Feb. 3, 2005. The Gold Rush had lost six straight in the facility. It was Xavier's largest victory margin against the Bulldogs since 2002 and largest victory margin at Tougaloo since 1999.

Xavier and Dillard will meet for the 125th time at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Crosstown Classic at XU's new Convocation Center. Reserved tickets are available to the public for $5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Thursday at the Convocation Center box office.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA