NEW ORLEANS — Newcomer Jalen David scored 17 points Tuesday to lead NAIA No. 25 Xavier University of Louisiana to a season-opening 66-44 men's basketball victory against Carver College of Atlanta.XULA won its opener for the 21st consecutive season and allowed its fewest points in an opener since 1995. It was the first game as head coach for XULA's Alfred Williams, a former Gold Rush assistant and standout player.
David, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward from Mount Vernon, N.Y., and a transfer from Moberly Area (Mo.) Community College, was 6-of-12 from the floor and made 5-of-6 free throws in 22 minutes as a reserve. He grabbed four rebounds and had a game-high three steals.
Seth Jackson had 12 points, five rebounds and a career-high six assists for the Gold Rush, and Leland Alexander had career highs of 11 points and 11 rebounds and his first collegiate double-double.
Tivius Guthrie had 10 points and six rebounds for Carver (0-2).
XULA made three of its first 17 floor shots and trailed 17-11 in the 14th minute before rallying to grab a 28-20 halftime lead. Twice the Gold Rush led by 25 points in the second half, the second time on Lucas Martin-Julien's basket with 2:46 remaining.
XULA outshot the Cougars 36.4 to 33.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 48-29. The Gold Rush were plus-9 in turnovers, committing 14 and gaining 23.
The NAIA announced its Division I preseason coaches poll approximately one hour before tip-off. XULA appears in the preseason top 25 for the seventh consecutive season.
XULA will play Wayland Baptist at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 — one week from Friday — at the Convocation Center. It will be the second game of doubleheader; the XULA women will open their season at 5:30 p.m. against Florida Memorial.
NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records from 2015-16)
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last |
| 1 | Mid-America Christian (6) | 28-9 | 247 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgetown (Ky.) (1) | 32-4 | 237 | 2 |
| 3 | William Penn (2) | 29-7 | 228 | 6 |
| 4 | Biola (1) | 30-4 | 225 | 5 |
| 5 | LSU-Alexandria | 29-4 | 215 | 3 |
| 6 | Columbia (Mo.) | 29-6 | 208 | 10 |
| 7 | Talladega | 25-6 | 206 | 7 |
| 8 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 28-9 | 191 | 4 |
| 9 | Carroll (Mont.) | 23-10 | 177 | 9 |
| 10 | William Carey | 20-12 | 166 | 22 |
| 11 | Campbellsville | 25-11 | 165 | 11 |
| 12-tie | Westmont | 21-11 | 155 | RV |
| 12-tie | Dillard | 17-16 | 155 | 20 |
| 14 | Our Lady of the Lake | 22-9 | 137 | 13 |
| 15 | Lewis-Clark State | 29-5 | 125 | 12 |
| 16 | Park | 20-10 | 113 | 24 |
| 17 | Hope International | 26-7 | 107 | 14 |
| 18 | Oklahoma City | 15-11 | 106 | RV |
| 19 | Pikeville | 25-6 | 97 | 8 |
| 20-tie | Lindsey Wilson | 17-14 | 93 | NR |
| 20-tie | Texas Wesleyan | 24-8 | 93 | 16 |
| 22 | Faulkner | 20-14 | 82 | NR |
| 23 | Central Methodist | 16-16 | 61 | NR |
| 24 | LSU-Shreveport | 18-14 | 51 | RV |
| 25 | Xavier | 21-13 | 42 | RV |
Dropped from previous rankings: No. 15 Cumberlands, No. 17 Arizona Christian, No. 18 Langston, No. 19 Freed-Hardeman, No. 21 Peru State, No. 23 William Jessup, No. 25 Montana Western Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold | ||||
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