KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Xavier University of Louisiana's men's basketball season ended Thursday after an 84-70 loss to Mid-America Christian in the opening round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.
Junior guard Morris Wright scored 22 of his career-high 27 points in the second half for the Gold Rush (24-10), ranked 19th in the coaches poll and unseeded in the tournament.
The Evangels (24-10), ranked and seeded 13th, made 14 3-pointers and won in their first trip to the NAIA's national tournament. Jerrick Massenburge, one of five double-figure scorers for MACU, made 4-of-4 3-pointers in the second half and scored 17 points.
MACU, from Oklahoma City and the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season champion, scored the first eight points and never trailed. The Evangels led 38-28 at halftime and 77-53 after Massenburge made his final 3-pointer with 6:41 remaining.
Wright scored 10 points in the final 7:37 and led Xavier in a closing 17-7 run.
Sydney Coleman had 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Gold Rush. Anthony Goode and RJ Daniels scored 11 apiece. Daniels had a game-high nine points in the first half.
Semar Farris scored 16 points for MACU. Chris Runnels scored 12 points, and Josh Smith and Brock Hunter had 10 apiece.
Wright's basket at 10:25 of the first half rallied Xavier to 16-15, but the Evangels scored the next 11 points, including 3-pointers by Jarius Wilson and Reggie Davis.
Xavier never was closer than seven points in the second half, when Goode made three free throws at 17:05 to make it 42-35. MACU led by double digits for the final 13:05.
The 14 3-pointers matched the most surrendered by an XU team in the last nine seasons. It was the 12th time this season that MACU made 10 or more treys.
Xavier shot 50 percent from the floor, its second-best ever in 20 games at nationals, and 59.3 percent in the second half. MACU shot 46.6 percent overall.
MACU will play fourth-seeded Freed-Hardeman or unseeded Missouri Valley at 8 p.m. Friday in second round. The championship game of the 32-team, five-round event will be Tuesday.
NOTES: It was the final XU game for Coleman and Goode, the team's only seniors. Both were second-team All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference this year . . . Xavier has lost six consecutive first-round games at nationals. The only XU victory at nationals since 1973 was in the 2007 first round . . . Xavier is 4-16 all-time in 16 appearances at nationals . . . This was Xavier's fifth consecutive appearance at nationals, a school record . . . This is the final season of Mid-America Christian head coach Willie Holley, a 1970 graduate of Louisiana-Monroe who is 812-526 in 43 seasons.
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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