NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Nick Haywood is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's basketball for Nov. 21-27.
Haywood, a 6-foot junior guard from Monroe, La., and a graduate of Ouachita High School, scored 26 points and made seven 3-pointers Saturday in Xavier's 78-67 loss at Wiley. The points were the most by a Gold Rush player since Michael Harvey scored 27 at home against Tougaloo on Feb. 8, 2010, and the 3-pointers were the most since Mark Stewart made a school-record-tying eight at Mobile on March 7, 2008.
Haywood, who did not start against Wiley, played 29 minutes and was 7-of-17 from the floor and 7-of-13 on 3-pointers. He made all five of his free throws.
This is Haywood's first year at Xavier after playing at NCAA Division I Houston the past two seasons. Through five games he ranks third on the Gold Rush with 9.4 points per game and leads the team with nine made 3-pointers. He averages 17.5 minutes.
The Gold Rush have earned two GCAC player awards this season. Junior forward Denzell Erves received the other for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
Xavier, 4-1 and ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, will play twice at home this week — against city rival Loyola at 7:30 tonight and against Concordia (Ala.) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
 MOBILE, Alabama — Kevin Miller scored a career-high 20 points Monday, and Wanto Joseph had a season-high 16 to lead NAIA No. 21 Xavier University of Louisiana to an 80-71 men's basketball victory at Mobile.
The Gold Rush (3-0) took the lead for good in the 18th minute when Miller grabbed an offensive rebound, then passed to Jamaan Kenner for a 3-pointer and a 37-35 advantage. Xavier led 44-41 at halftime and held its biggest lead, 73-59, on an Anthony Simmons basket with 2:39 remaining.
Miller reached double figures for the first time this season and shattered his previous career best of 13 points. Joseph, a 5-foot-9 reserve point guard and the team's shortest player, is the only XU player to reach double figures in all three regular-season games.
Ji Kimbrough scored 27 points, 17 in the first half, and made 14-of-14 free throws for Mobile (2-1), and Jonathan Tinch scored 15. The Rams were the preseason favorite in the Southern States Athletic Conference West Division.
Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor. Xavier made 28-of-37 free throws, and Mobile made 20-of-24. Cordell Hadnot grabbed a season-best eight rebounds for Xavier, which had a 35-30 advantage on the boards.
Eleven Gold Rush players scored, including Simmons with nine points and seven rebounds and Kenner with season highs of eight points and two 3-pointers.
Brock Dockery's basket with 18:18 remaining reduced Xavier's lead to 47-45, but the Rush followed with an 11-2 run which included a Miller 3-pointer, two Denzell Erves baskets and three Chris Iles assists. Xavier led by at least seven points for the final 8:52.
The Gold Rush have won four straight and seven of eight against Mobile and lead the series 29-26. The teams will meet again Dec. 6 at The Barn.
Xavier will play Wiley for homecoming at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Barn, and PSBlive.com will webcast that game and the XU women's contest against Huston-Tillotson at noon.
 NOTES: Kimbrough scored eight points in the final 2:31 after Xavier established its largest lead . . . The Gold Rush are 3-0 for the 10th consecutive season . . . The XU men have won 34 of their past 41 games and are 10-3 on opponents' courts during that time . . . Xavier's four consecutive victories against Mobile match its longest streak in the series . . . It's the first time in 10 games that either team reached 80 points in the series, and it's the first time in 13 games that both teams reached 70 . . . Iles, a 17-point scorer Friday at home against St. Thomas (Fla.), didn't score again after making 2-of-2 free throws in the second minute. He's 12-of-12 from the line this season and has made 16 in a row dating to this past season . . . Simmons grabbed five offensive rebounds, giving him 14 in three games. Simmons needed nine games in 2010-11 to reach 14 offensive rebounds . . . The Gold Rush are 10-1 against five former Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opponents — Mobile, Belhaven, Loyola, Spring Hill and William Carey — since they left the league in the summer of 2010 to join the Southern States. Xavier, Belhaven, Spring Hill and William Carey were GCAC charter members in 1981-82.
 Box score
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCACSPORTS
NEXT GAME: Saturday, November 19 — Women's Basketball vs. Huston-Tillotson, noon FREE VIDEO STREAMING -- live on internet • live stats
Saturday, November 19 — Men's Basketball vs. Wiley, 2 p.m. FREE VIDEO STREAMING -- live on internet • live stats
GEORGETOWN, Kentucky -- Senior center Keldra Hall scored eight points during a closing rally Saturday which lifted NAIA No. 16 Xavier University to a 79-76 women's basketball victory against host Georgetown in the Chick-fil-A Classic.
The Gold Nuggets (3-1) trailed by 16 points late in the first half, 41-28 at halftime and 70-61 with 4:09 remaining before an 18-6 run in which they scored on their final eight possessions.
Hall had a pair of 3-point plays during the rally, with the second putting Xavier ahead to stay at 71-70 with 1:54 remaining.
"It's hard on the road," Xavier coach Bo Browder said. "But the Gold Nuggets know how to fight!"
Hall finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Brandi Young scored 17 points -- including 2-of-2 3-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws -- Jasmine Grant scored 12 and Carmen Holcombe and Jessica Savannah had 11 apiece. Grant made 4-of-8 3-pointers. Holcombe added a career-high eight rebounds and Savannah, a freshman, did not miss any of her seven shots.
Grant's final 3-pointer followed a Holcombe steal and gave Xavier a 74-70 lead with 1:42 remaining. Young made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds.
It was the first time in five years that the Nuggets won despite surrendering 75 or more points.
Andrea Howard had 19 points and six rebounds for Georgetown (4-1). Mikkah Rogers scored a season-high 18 points. Jessica Waddle had 17 points and five rebounds, and Devon Golden had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Howard scored 15 first-half points and passed to Waddle for a 3-pointer which gave the Tigers their biggest lead, 41-26, with 27 seconds remaining in the first half. Grant answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession.
Georgetown outshot the Nuggets 39.6 to 35.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 46-35.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
NEW ORLEANS -- Another home victory, another free-throw feast. It was more of the same Friday for the Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball team.
Chris Iles scored 17 points, Anthony Simmons 16 and Wanto Joseph 10 to lead Xavier, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, to a 69-59 decision over St. Thomas (Fla.) at The Barn.
The Gold Rush (2-0) rallied from a 34-30 halftime deficit, outscored the Bobcats 33-7 in free throws -- 11-0 in the second half -- and won for the 22nd time in the past 23 home games.
Xavier attempted 48 free throws and improved to 31-0 since November 2009 when making more free throws than opponents. Iles, the team's most accurate free-throw shooter this past season, was 10-of-10 from the line, all in the first half. Joseph made 8-of-12 free throws, and Kevin Miller was 4-of-4.
Simmons scored 11 second-half points, and his basket with 8:48 remaining put the Gold Rush ahead to stay at 49-47. That followed 16 ties and 12 lead changes.
Joseph's free throws with 27 seconds remaining gave the XU men their biggest lead, 67-55, and capped a 10-0 run which covered nearly 3½ minutes.
Jeffery Remmington scored 16 points and Dylan O'Sullivan 15 for the Bobcats (1-2), who lost Thursday at Loyola. Both players had nine first-half points.
St. Thomas, an NAIA Division II member, outshot Xavier 44.4 to 39.5 percent from the floor. Both teams grabbed 27 rebounds, and the Gold Rush committed 19 turnovers and gained 25.
The Bobcats were assessed with 33 fouls, two less than they committed at Loyola.
The Gold Rush and Bobcats will meet again Dec. 29 in the St. Thomas Classic. Next for Xavier will be a 7:30 p.m. Tuesday game at Mobile.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky — Derrick Gordon scored 17 points Saturday to lead Western Kentucky to a 73-61 men's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana.
It was the third consecutive year that the Hilltoppers, an NCAA Division I member, beat the NAIA-member Gold Rush in an exhibition, but this was the closest of the three margins. Western Kentucky won by 53 points in 2009 and by 15 points in 2010.
T.J. Price scored 12 points for WKU, and Nigel Snipes and Kahlil McDonald had 11 apiece. Snipes grabbed 11 rebounds.
Wanto Joseph had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists and was Xavier's lone double-figure scorer. Kevin Miller had nine points and five rebounds, and Chris Iles and Renard Smith scored eight points apiece.
Xavier, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, trailed 41-25 at halftime but outscored the Hilltoppers 36-32 in the second half. Iles made the second of two free throws with 3:28 remaining to cut WKU's margin to 63-56, but the Hilltoppers scored the next six points to clinch the victory.
WKU outshot Xavier 41.1 to 40 percent from the floor, committed 13 turnovers and gained 27. The Gold Rush had a 39-36 rebound advantage even though two of Xavier's tallest players, Denzell Erves and Anthony Simmons, fouled out. WKU outscored Xavier 23-16 in free throws.
The Hilltopers led 4-0 through the first 2:15, then the Gold Rush scored eight consecutive points — five by Erves and three by Miller — to take an 8-4 lead. WKU responded with a 9-0 run before Xavier took its final lead, 16-15, when Nick Haywood passed to Smith for a 3-pointer at 11:16.
WKU had a 10-0 run in the final 3:22 of the first half, then took its biggest lead, 45-27, on Price's basket in the paint with 17:33 remaining.
Xavier will stay on the road for a 7 p.m. Monday exhibition at seventh-ranked Vanderbilt.
GALLERY: Men's Basketball vs. Xavier
Box score
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana is No. 16 in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 announced Monday. It's the Gold Nuggets' highest preseason ranking since the 2004-05 season, when they were 15th.
Xavier, 27-7 this past season and two-time defending Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament champion, returns 13 letterwomen and three starters. The Nuggets will attempt to reach 20 victories for the 19th time in 20 seasons and qualify for the NAIA Division I National Championship for the 16th time in 18 seasons. This past season the Gold Nuggets reached the second round of nationals for the first time since 2003.
Xavier was 22nd in the 2010-11 preseason. It's the first time since a four-year streak from 2001-04 that the Nuggets are preseason top-25 in consecutive years.
Three XU opponents this season — No. 3 Oklahoma City, No. 19 Langston and No. 21 Shorter — also are ranked. Langston will visit the Nuggets on Nov. 25, and Shorter will visit Dec. 3 and play host to the Nuggets on Jan. 4. Xavier will play Oklahoma City in Las Vegas on Dec. 20.
The other GCAC team to receive votes was SUNO, which collected nine points and ranks 34th. Xavier will play host to the Lady Knights on Jan. 10 and visit SUNO on Feb. 6. Three others which received votes — Southern Poly, Georgetown (Ky.) and city rival Loyola — also will play the Nuggets this season.
Defending champion Azusa Pacific received all 12 first-place votes to end the 48-poll No. 1 streak of Union (Ky.), which lost 65-59 to Azusa in the national championship game on March 22.
The first regular-season poll will be announced Dec. 5.
Xavier will travel to SEC opponent LSU for a Nov. 2 exhibition, then open the regular season Nov. 4 against Florida Memorial at The Barn. Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.
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NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25(first-place votes in parentheses — includes 2010-11 final records)
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last |
| 1 | Azusa Pacific (12) | 33-5 | 312 | 3 |
| 2 | Union (Tenn.) | 35-2 | 302 | 1 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City | 27-4 | 290 | 4 |
| 4 | Shawnee State | 27-10 | 280 | tie-24 |
| 5 | Lewis-Clark State | 29-5 | 266 | 10 |
| 6-tie | Freed-Hardeman | 27-9 | 248 | 7 |
| 6-tie | Bethel (Tenn.) | 27-7 | 248 | 6 |
| 8 | Campbellsville | 30-4 | 234 | 2 |
| 9 | Westminster (Utah) | 28-7 | 222 | 8 |
| 10 | Vanguard | 18-11 | 221 | 19 |
| 11 | Southern Nazarene | 27-7 | 220 | 18 |
| 12 | Olivet Nazarene | 26-6 | 202 | 16 |
| 13 | Saint Xavier | 24-6 | 179 | 12 |
| 14 | Lindsey Wilson | 24-9 | 175 | 15 |
| 15 | Lee (Tenn.) | 25-7 | 174 | tie-13 |
| 16 | Xavier | 27-7 | 166 | 20 |
| 17 | Lubbock Christian | 23-10 | 158 | 22 |
| 18 | Columbia (Mo.) | 28-6 | 157 | 11 |
| 19 | Langston | 28-5 | 152 | tie-13 |
| 20 | Westmont | 20-10 | 124 | 23 |
| 21 | Shorter | 24-8 | 110 | RV |
| 22 | Evangel | 21-9 | 85 | tie-24 |
| 23 | William Woods | 30-5 | 77 | 21 |
| 24 | Rogers State | 23-10 | 72 | RV |
| 25 | Belhaven | 24-9 | 58 | RV |
Others receiving votes: The Master's 57, Carroll (Mont.) 39, Cumberlands 26, Southern Poly 22, Robert Morris (Chicago) 18, Avila 15, Point Loma Nazarene 11, Texas Wesleyan 10; SUNO 9, Loyola 7, Wayland Baptist 5, John Brown 4, Biola 3, Voorhees 1, Rocky Mountain 1, Benedictine (Kan.) 1, Georgetown (Ky.) 1. |
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By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana is No. 21 in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 announced Monday. It's the first time in coach Dannton Jackson's nine seasons that the Gold Rush are preseason top-25 in consecutive years.
Xavier, 27-6 and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up this past season, returns nine lettermen and four starters. The Rush will attempt to qualify for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship for the sixth time in eight seasons. This past season the XU men won their first 13 games and qualified for nationals with their most victories since the 1983-84 season.
Xavier was 20th in the 2010-11 preseason and spent three weeks in the top 10.
The other GCAC team to receive votes was defending tournament champion Tougaloo, which is 13th. Xavier will visit Tougaloo on Jan. 23 and play host to the Bulldogs on Feb. 13. Two teams which received votes, Mobile and William Carey, will play Xavier in home-and-away non-conference series this season.
Defending champion Pikeville is the preseason No. 1 after receiving five of 12 first-place votes. Four other teams received first-place votes.
Earlier in the day Xavier's women's team earned a preseason No. 16 ranking. That makes Xavier one of four NAIA Division I schools — the others are Azusa Pacific, Evangel and Union (Tenn.) — with men's and women's basketball teams to earn preseason top-25 rankings in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
The Gold Rush will open the season at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at The Barn against Carver College of Atlanta.
The first regular-season poll will be announced Dec. 5.
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NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25(first-place votes in parentheses — includes 2010-11 final records)
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last |
| 1 | Pikeville (5) | 30-7 | 300 | 24 |
| 2 | Mountain State (3) | 33-4 | 295 | 3 |
| 3 | Robert Morris (Chicago) (2) | 32-2 | 293 | 1 |
| 4 | Concordia (Calif.) (1) | 32-4 | 288 | 2 |
| 5 | Martin Methodist (1) | 34-3 | 268 | 6 |
| 6 | LSU-Shreveport | 30-4 | 255 | 4 |
| 7 | Oklahoma Baptist | 24-9 | 254 | 9 |
| 8 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 32-5 | 240 | 7 |
| 9 | Azusa Pacific | 29-6 | 233 | 8 |
| 10 | Texas Wesleyan | 30-4 | 223 | 6 |
| 11 | Rogers State | 22-12 | 202 | 25 |
| 12 | Shorter | 23-8 | 188 | RV |
| 13 | Tougaloo | 27-4 | 185 | 11 |
| 14 | Columbia (Mo.) | 26-6 | 166 | 18 |
| 15-tie | Biola | 28-6 | 158 | 13 |
| 15-tie | Montana State Northern | 24-9 | 158 | 19 |
| 17 | St. Catharine | 22-9 | 149 | 14 |
| 18 | Southern Nazarene | 26-8 | 141 | 10 |
| 19 | Evangel | 26-9 | 132 | 15 |
| 20 | Southern Poly | 23-10 | 121 | RV |
| 21 | Xavier | 27-6 | 94 | 17 |
| 22 | Union (Tenn.) | 26-7 | 88 | 12 |
| 23 | Carroll (Mont.) | 23-9 | 75 | 22 |
| 24 | Saint Xavier | 19-13 | 66 | NR |
| 25 | Fresno Pacific | 20-11 | 63 | RV |
Others receiving votes: Park 55, Lee (Tenn.) 45, MidAmerica Nazarene 33, Mobile 31, Oklahoma Christian 26, Campbellsville 24, Our Lady of the Lake 22, Freed-Hardeman 21, Life 16, MontanaWestern 12, Westminster (Utah) 3, William Carey 1, Northwestern Oklahoma 1, St. Francis (Ill.) 1, Benedictine (Kan.) 1, Westmont 1, Emmanuel (Ga.) 1, Cumberland 1, Cumberlands 1. |
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By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- SUNO's Clyde Moore, a junior guard, has been selected the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball Player of the Week for a second consecutive week. Moore led the Knights in scoring for the week with 38 points. He averaged 19 points per game, shooting 70% from the field. Moore also led in total rebounds with 14 while getting three steals for the week. Moore also made 71% of his foul shots for the week.
