Gold Rush reach 20 victories for fourth straight season

NEW ORLEANS -- Reserve guard Anthony Goode needed just 19½ minutes to score 20 points and lead NAIA No. 14 Xavier University of Louisiana in an 83-61 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Tougaloo on Saturday.

The Gold Rush (20-7, 9-2) reached 20 victories for the fourth straight season. Xavier has 29 20-win seasons, a Louisiana men's collegiate record. Second on the list is Louisiana-Lafayette with 22.

Goode was 8-of-10 from the floor and became the first Gold Rush player this season with consecutive 20-point games.

Xavier Rogers scored 16 points and Morris Wright 15 for Xavier, which won for the ninth time in its last 10 home games.

Cordaryl Campbell scored 19 points, Andravious Smith 16 and Jermell Anderson 10 for Tougaloo (11-17, 5-6).

Xavier trailed 7-1 through the first two minutes, then tied the score four times before taking the lead for good, 18-16, on an RJ Daniels basket at 10:29 of the first half. A Rogers 3-point play at 8:43 capped a 14-2 run and gave the Gold Rush a 26-16 lead.

Wright's buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Xavier a 41-23 halftime lead. Rogers scored with 3:23 remaining to give Xavier its largest lead, 77-47.

After allowing an average of 87.7 points in its previous three games, Xavier clamped down on a Tougaloo team which entered with a five-game win streak and was averaging 88.4 points during that time. The Gold Rush outshot the Bulldogs 55.6 to 38 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 38-23. Daniels grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

Tougaloo had four players with three fouls by halftime and two fouled out. Xavier capitalized by making 21-of-25 free throws, 16-of-16 in the final 28:43.

Rogers and Olivier Siewe (three rebounds, one steal) were honored in a senior-day ceremony.

Xavier's Dannton Jackson reached 20 victories for the ninth time in 11 seasons as head coach. He tied LSU-Shreveport's Chad McDowell for third place on the all-time state list, which is led by Grambling's Fred Hobdy (14) and LSU's Dale Brown (10). Hobdy is deceased, and Brown and McDowell are retired from the sport.

Xavier will play non-conference opponent Belhaven at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Convocation Center -- that's a makeup of a Jan. 28 game postponed because of wintry weather -- then conclude the regular season at conference and city rival Dillard at 5 p.m. Saturday. Xavier will play host to the GCAC Tournament from March 6-9.


Box score

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