Xavier's Simmons chosen GCAC Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Anthony Simmons, whose resurgence helped the Gold Rush win two road games, is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's basketball for Jan. 2-8.

Simmons, a 6-foot-8 junior forward from Rochester, N.Y., and a graduate of Allendale Columbia School, averaged 16.5 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots and shot 75 percent from the floor during the Gold Rush's 2-0 week. He scored 17 points in a 79-70 victory at New Orleans to help the XU men earn their first victory against the Privateers since 1974. Then he produced his first double-double of the season — 16 points, a career-high-tying 13 rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots — in a 76-70 victory against Philander Smith. Simmons had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half against the Panthers.

Simmons is averaging 9.9 points and 5.3 rebounds and shooting 67.6 percent from the floor this season. He has played in 12 games and started seven. He scored in double figures in the past three games after averaging 4.6 points in the previous five games.

Simmons is the fourth XU player this season to be named GCAC Player of the Week and the second in a row. Simmons also won the award as a sophomore.

Xavier, 10-4 and tied for 18th in the NAIA Division I coaches poll, will play GCAC and city rival SUNO at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Barn.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

Xavier, with five in double figures, wins at Philander Smith

ANTHONY SIMMONS
6-8/245 FORWARD, JUNIOR
GAME STATS: 16 PTS, 13 REB, 4 BLK
HOMETOWN: ROCHESTER, NY

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Junior forward Anthony Simmons produced his first double-double of the season, 16 points and 13 rebounds, to lead NAIA No. 21 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 76-70 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Philander Smith on Saturday.

The Gold Rush (10-4 overall, 1-0 GCAC) had five scorers in double figures. Chris Iles had 15 points, Wanto Joseph 14, Nick Haywood 11 and Jeremy Lee 10. 

Xavier took the lead for good in the third minute, led 32-22 at halftime and held its biggest lead, 59-41, after Haywood's 3-point play with 8:41 remaining.

NAIA scoring leader Ken Brown had 33 points, 21 in the second half, for Philander Smith (5-9, 1-1), which is in its first GCAC season but already has victories against defending GCAC Tournament champion Tougaloo and NCAA Division I Central Arkansas.

"Our team was resilient," Xavier coach Dannton Jackson said. "We did a good job not giving their 3-point shooters a lot of room, and a lot of our guys had good games."

The Panthers made a season-low three 3-pointers in 25 attempts — Brown was 2-of-10 and Brandon Bell was 1-of-9 — and shot 29.7 percent from the floor. Xavier shot 51.9 percent and made more than half of its shots for the second straight game after never reaching 50 percent in its first 12 contests.

Simmons recorded his fourth double-double in two seasons at Xavier but his first on the road. He matched his career high for rebounds and blocked a career-best four shots.

Simmons had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half. It was 17-4 in the eighth minute after Iles made his first two 3-point attempts and Simmons scored five points.

"We jumped on (Philander Smith) early," Jackson said. "But we did not do a good job managing the clock late in the game."

Philander Smith, helped in the second half by 19 XU turnovers and 23-of-26 free throws, cut Xavier's lead to five points three times in the final 75 seconds. But two Joseph free throws in the final 20 seconds and another by Haywood sealed Xavier's third consecutive victory and fifth on the road this season.

Xavier finished with 29 turnovers, its most in a game since the start of the 20023-04 season. But the Gold Rush offset that with a 47-31 rebound advantage, its best since opening night. Iles, Xavier's starting point guard, grabbed seven rebounds and has 15 in the past two games.

Lee was 4-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the line in his first appearance of the season. He grabbed seven rebounds in 17 minutes as a reserve.

Damarkus Lipscomb had 13 points and seven steals for Philander Smith, and Bell scored 12 points.

It was the last of six straight road games for Xavier, which will play GCAC and city rival SUNO at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Barn.  PSBlive.com  (www.psblive.com or www.xula.edu/athletics/stream) will webcast the game live.

FINAL STATS

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 

XU's Cordell Hadnot selected GCAC Player of the Week

Cordell Hadnot, shooting ball, is the third Gold Rush player this season to be selected GCAC Player of the Week.

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Cordell Hadnot, who extended his career-best double-figure scoring streak to six games, is the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week in men's basketball for Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

Hadnot, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Los Angeles and a graduate of Westchester High School, led the Gold Rush with averages of 11.5 points and 12 rebounds and a .571 field-goal percentage in two games at the Mami Gardens Classic. Hadnot scored 12 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds Thursday in an overtime victory against Florida Memorial. He's the first XU player since February 2009 to grab 15 rebounds in a game.

Hadnot had 11 points and nine rebounds Wednesday in a loss to St. Thomas (Fla.), and he leads the team with averages of 10.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in 11 games.

Hadnot is the third Gold Rush player this season to receive the GCAC award. Nick Haywood did it for Nov. 21-27, and Denzell Erves earned it for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.

Xavier, 8-4 and ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, will visit the University of New Orleans in a 7 p.m. game Wednesday. It will be the teams' first meeting since 2000.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: GCACSPORTS

Joseph's layup at buzzer gives Xavier an overtime victory

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- Wanto Joseph converted his frontcourt steal into a layup at the buzzer Thursday, giving Xavier University of Louisiana a 71-69 overtime men's basketball victory against Florida Memorial in the Miami Gardens Classic.

The Gold Rush (8-4), ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, snapped a two-game losing streak and finished 1-1 in the event. The Lions (4-9) of NAIA Division II dropped their seventh in a row and lost in overtime for the second straight day.

Joseph stole the ball from Denzel Wright with seven seconds remaining, then weaved through traffic to reach the basket and avoid a second overtime.

"I looked up at the clock and there were two seconds remaining," Joseph said. "I was at the volleyball (baseline), so I knew I was close enough. I took one dribble and two hard steps and made it to the rim in time."

Anthony Simmons led Xavier with 15 points and reached double figures for the first time in more than a month. Cordell Hadnot had 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Jamaan Kenner had a season-high 11 points, and Denzell Erves scored 10. Joseph had nine points and led Xavier in the extra period with four.

"The game probably shouldn't have gone to overtime," XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "But any win on the road in overtime is great. Hopefully those five extra minutes gave us a little more experience and will help us get a little better."

Xavier trailed once in the final 14 minutes -- when George Gray's 3-pointer gave Florida Memorial a 48-47 advantage with 7:34 remaining in regulation -- and appeared to regain momentum when Simmons and Nick Haywood combined for all the points in an 8-0 response which took less than a minute. But FMU gained five XU turnovers thereafter and sent the game into overtime when Gray's basket beat the buzzer in regulation.

Gray scored a season-high 27 points. Matthew Rolle had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and La Dante Berry-White scored a career-best 13.

It was the second time in three games the XU men played overtime. They lost 95-91 in three OTs at city rival Loyola on Dec. 17. It was the first time in Jackson's nine seasons that the Gold Rush won on the road in overtime against a non-conference opponent.

Hadnot's double-double was the fifth of his career and his second in three games. His 15 rebounds were Xavier's most since Kelechi Okoroha grabbed the same amount at William Carey on Feb. 19, 2009. It was Hadnot's career-best sixth consecutive game to score in double figures.

"Cordell has been working really hard and came up big with rebounding today," Jackson said of the senior forward. "His presence down low and his will to score helped us a lot. It was also good to see Anthony Simmons be productive on both ends of the court."

Xavier outshot the Lions 43.1 to 41.7 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 41-28.

Xavier's next game will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the University of New Orleans in the first meeting between the schools since 1976.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

STU Bobcats use late burst to defeat XU Gold Rush 70-60

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- Kevin Hincapie scored a career-high-tying 25 points Wednesday, and St. Thomas (Fla.) rallied in the final five minutes for a 70-60 men's basketball victory against NAIA No. 21 Xavier University of Louisiana in the Miami Gardens Classic.

The Bobcats (8-6), an NAIA Division II member, have won seven straight. The Gold Rush (7-4) have dropped two in a row.

Jamaan Kenner's 3-pointer with 5:12 remaining gave Xavier a 57-54 lead, but Hincapie and David Nesbitt scored six points apiece in the Bobcats' closing 16-3 burst. Hincapie's basket with 4:32 remaining put St. Thomas ahead to stay, 58-57.

Nesbitt scored 13 points and Kodamus Llongby 10 for St. Thomas, which avenged a 69-59 loss at Xavier from Nov. 11.

Cordell Hadnot and Chris Iles scored 11 points apiace for Xavier, and Hadnot grabbed nine rebounds.

Hincapie scored 13 first-half points to give the Bobcats a 31-28 lead at intermission. They led 42-35 after Hincapie's basket with 15:23 remaining, but Iles and Renard Smith made 3-pointers during an 11-0 run which gave the Gold Rush a 46-42 lead with 12:35 to play.

St. Thomas committed a season-low eight turnovers and outshot Xavier 43.1 to 36 percent from the floor. The Gold Rush committed 11 turnovers, also a season low. Xavier outscored St. Thomas 33-7 from the line in their November meeting, but this time the Bobcats had a 19-18 advantage. St. Thomas made 10 free throws in the final five minutes.

It was Xavier's first game since a triple-overtime loss Dec. 17 at city rival Loyola.

Xavier will play Florida Memorial at 5 p.m. EST Thursday in its second and final game of this event. Florida Memorial (4-8) lost 89-88 Wednesday to Palm Beach Atlantic and has dropped six in a row.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

Schedule change in Florida; XU Rush to play Bobcats first

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's men's basketball team will play St. Thomas (Fla.) at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday and Florida Memorial at 5 p.m. EST Thursday in the Miami Gardens Classic.

St. Thomas, host of the event, revised the pairings this past week. Xavier originally was scheduled to play Florida Memorial on the first day of this fourth annual event. Both Xavier games will be played in the Fernandez Center at St. Thomas.

This is Xavier's third consecutive appearance in the event. The Gold Rush defeated Florida Memorial 56-46 and lost 79-61 to St. Thomas in 2009, then beat Webber International 69-42 and lost 61-58 to Dakota Wesleyan in 2010. Xavier defeated St. Thomas 69-59 at The Barn on Nov. 11.

Xavier is 7-3 and ranked 21st in NAIA Division I. Junior guard Nick Haywood averages a team-leading 10.4 points, and senior forward Cordell Hadnot averages 10 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds.

St. Thomas is 7-6 with a six-game winning streak, and Florida Memorial is 4-7 with a five-game losing streak. FMU will play host to Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday before facing the Gold Rush.

Fourth Annual Miami Gardens Classic
Miami Gardens, Fla.
NAIA Men's Basketball
Hosts: St. Thomas, Florida Memorial
Participating Schools: Florida Memorial, Palm Beach Atlantic, St. Thomas, Xavier (La)

Tournament Schedule:
Wednesday, December 28

5 p.m. - Palm Beach Atlantic vs. Florida Memorial
7 p.m. - Xavier (La) vs. St. Thomas

Thursday, December 29

5 p.m. - Xavier (La) vs. Florida Memorial
7 p.m. – Palm Beach Atlantic vs. St. Thomas

BOLD GAMES TO BE HELD AT FERNANDEZ FAMILY CENTER ON STU CAMPUS

By Ed Cassiere, SID

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

XU Gold Rush rally in second half to defeat Bobcats

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

Midnight Madness Highlight @ Xavier University of Louisiana

Friday, November 11 — Men's Basketball vs. St. Thomas (Fla.), 6 p.m.   live stats
Saturday, November 19 — Women's Basketball vs. Huston-Tillotson, noon   live on internet   •   live stats
Saturday, November 19 — Men's Basketball vs. Wiley, 2 p.m.   live on internet   •   live stats

Xavier loses 73-61 to Western Kentucky in road exhibition

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

XU's Erves is perfect in opener to lead Gold Rush past Carver

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Denzell Erves scored a career-high 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and was 10-of-10 from the floor Wednesday in Xavier University of Louisiana's 88-69 men's basketball victory against Carver.

The Gold Rush, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I, won a season opener for the 16th consecutive season and defeated the Cougars (0-2) for the fourth straight season.

Erves' double-double was his second at Xavier. The junior forward made all six of his first-half shots and scored 12 points to lead the Gold Rush to a 38-32 halftime advantage.

Wanto Joseph scored 15 points, Nick Haywood 13 and Anthony Simmons 12 for Xavier. It was Haywood's debut with the Gold Rush after playing for the University of Houston the past two seasons.

Bernard Parks scored 14 points and Nicholas Hood 13 for Carver, and Derek Douglas and Demetrius Mack had 12 apiece.

Carver, an Atlanta college, spent about 2½ minutes with the lead in the first half, the last time at 20-18 on Hood's basket at 9:27. Kevin Miller's 3-pointer at 8:14 put the Gold Rush ahead to stay at 21-20.

Haywood's back-to-back 3-pointers in the third minute of the second half gave Xavier its first double-digit lead, 46-35. Simmons' basket with 2:14 remaining gave Xavier its biggest lead, 83-61.

Xavier outshot the Cougars 47.2 to 38.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 53-29.

Xavier won for the 21st time in its past 22 games at The Barn.

Xavier's next two games will be road exhibitions against NCAA Division I opponents — 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Western Kentucky and 7 p.m. Monday against seventh-ranked Vanderbilt.

Box score

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

Jackson siblings lead Xavier to sixth straight GCAC titles

Zahari Jackson

Kwame Jackson

CLINTON, Mississippi — Freshman siblings Zahri and Kwame Jackson won individual championships for Xavier University of Louisiana at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

Both Xavier teams won their sixth consecutive GCAC team championships — the women by 34 points, the men by 41 — and both earned automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships for the third time in four years. The national meet will be Nov. 19 in Vancouver, Wash.

Zahri Jackson ran 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 20.40 seconds to defeat 40 women — including SUNO's Monicah Jepkemboi, the defending champion — and score her second consecutive individual victory. Jepkemboi, the leader until the final 175 yards, was second in 19:31.69. XU freshman Catherine Fakler was third in a career-best 19:32.56.

"I never led until I passed (Jepkemboi) at the end of the race," Jackson said. "I stayed within three feet of her until then. I just ran her pace. You never know for sure if you can outsprint someone at the end. You've just got to have faith in yourself and go."

Jackson recorded the third-fastest 5K in XU women's history and owns the program's fastest three times. Jackson has five top-10 finishes and four top-fives in seven collegiate meets. Her time Saturday was the second-fastest in 11 seasons by a female at the GCAC Championships.

Kwame Jackson ran 8,000 meters in 28:12.09 to defeat 37 men and score his first collegiate victory. It was his fifth top-10 and third top-five this season. He finished about 5½ seconds ahead of senior teammate Ray Walston, the 2009 GCAC champion, and nearly 31 seconds ahead of junior teammate Matt Pieri, the defending champion. Walston was GCAC runner-up for the third time. Pieri was top-four for the third straight year.

Matt Pieri

XU coach Joseph Moses said Pieri, the Gold Rush's fastest runner four times this season, was hampered by a calf injury he suffered this week during a workout.

"Had Matt been healthy, I would've expected a different outcome today because he had run well this season," Moses said. "But Kwame was clearly capable of winning. He ran a strong race, a smart race. Kwame's a worthy champion."

Based on top-10 finishes in this meet, Xavier produced six women's and six men's All-GCAC runners. Joining Zahri Jackson and Fakler among the All-GCAC women were Anna D'Souza (fifth place, career-best 20:24.93), Darian Towns (sixth, Xavier-best 20:36.68), Hali Yarmush (seventh, 20:42.77) and Donyé Coleman (ninth, 20:55.23). D'Souza became the third Gold Nugget to be All-GCAC four times, and it was her third top-five at the league meet.

On the All-GCAC men's team from Xavier were Kwame Jackson, Walston (28:17.63), Pieri (28:43.04), Javon Mead (fifth, 29:07.21), Emmanuel Detiege (eighth, 30:27.72) and Jamaal Williams (ninth, 30:33.35). Of the seven XU freshmen, all four from the women's team and all three from the men's team made all-conference.

Moses, in his seventh season at XU, was selected GCAC Coach of the Year by his peers for the fifth time on the women's side and the sixth time on the men's.

The six straight GCAC championships for the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush mark the third and fourth times that a Xavier program has won that many in a row on the league or NAIA unaffiliated group level. Xavier won six consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in men's outdoor track and field from 1938-43. The men's tennis program has an active streak of six straight — GCAC titles in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and an NAIA unaffiliated group championship in 2011.


Results:  Men    Women

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

One is not a lonely number for XU in the NAIA polls

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana received one point Wednesday — the same number as this past week — in both of the NAIA Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 polls. But that pair of ones is significant.

For the Gold Nuggets, it's the first time since 2002 that they received a vote in consecutive polls, and it's the first time since that same season that they were mentioned in the poll entering the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships. For the XU men, it's the first time they received a vote this late in a season.

Both XU teams will compete Saturday in the GCAC meet at Choctaw Trails Course in Clinton, Miss. — women's race at 8 a.m., men's race at 8:30 — and both the Gold Nuggets and the Gold Rush are trying to win a sixth consecutive team championship. XU junior Matt Pieri is the defending men's individual champion.

NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank Team Points Last 1 Azusa Pacific (21) 652 1 2 Cal State San Marcos (2) 633 2 3 British Columbia 584 4 4 College of Idaho 576 8 5 Friends 572 6 6 Olivet Nazarene 570 5 7 Northwest Christian 529 3 8 Biola 516 7 9 Concordia (Ore.) 479 9 10 Carroll (Mont.) 459 11 11 Morningside 458 10 12 The Master's 423 12 13 Saint Xavier 371 13 14 Lewis-Clark State 359 15 15 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 355 14 16 Westmont 350 16 17 Taylor 309 17 18 Indiana Wesleyan 261 19 19 (tie) Concordia (Neb.) 260 NR 19 (tie) Southern Oregon 260 18 21 Roberts Wesleyan 246 20 22 Rocky Mountain 208 NR 23 Dordt 194 21 24 Aquinas 172 22 25 Milligan 155 23 Others receiving votes: Viterbo 114, Point Loma Nazarene 107, Shawnee State 80, Cornerstone 56, Eastern Oregon 35; Northwestern (Iowa) 23, SCAD Savannah 22, Judson (Ill.) 21, Spring Arbor 8, Northwest (Wash.) 7, Park 3, Grand View 3, Xavier 1,Southwestern (Kan.) 1, Huntington (Ind.) 1, Trinity Christian 1, Wayland Baptist 1, Cumberlands 1, Vanguard 1. NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank Team Points Last 1 Oklahoma Christian (22) 622 1 2 Shorter 589 2 3 The Master's 566 5 4 Southern Oregon 554 7 5 Friends 520 9 6 Lewis-Clark State 517 6 7 Shawnee State 491 8 8 Cal State San Marcos 485 4 9 College of Idaho 483 21 10 Wayland Baptist 451 10 11 Concordia (Ore.) 430 3 12 Aquinas 400 12 13 Bryan 387 13 14 Westmont 356 14 15 St. Francis (Ill.) 340 16 16 Concordia (Neb.) 305 15 17 Oklahoma Baptist 294 18 18 Olivet Nazarene 289 11 19 Southwestern (Kan.) 277 17 20 Eastern Oregon 258 19 21 Biola 243 20 22 British Columbia 179 22 23 Siena Heights 136 24 24 Morningside 124 RV 25 SCAD Savannah 111 RV Others receiving votes: Graceland 98, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 96, Vanguard 90, Berea 85, Carroll (Mont.) 48, Cornerstone 27, Azusa Pacific 24, Baker 20, Huntington (Ind.) 19, Rocky Mountain 8, Point Loma Nazarene 4, Cumberlands 3, Xavier 1, Dordt 1, Doane 1, By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Jacksons, Pieri, Fakler go low in Ragin' Cajuns Invitational

LAFAYETTE, La. — Xavier University of Louisiana freshman Kwame Jackson ran four miles in 21 minutes, 46.1 seconds — the second-fastest time in school history — and placed third out of 40 runners Friday evening in the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational cross country meet at Acadiana Park.

Teammate Matt Pieri was fourth in 22:04.4 with the fifth-fastest time in XU history.

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2011 women's cross country team
      From left: Anna D'Souza, Hali Yarmuth, Catherine Fakler, Darian Towns, 
Donye Coleman, Zahri Jackson, Paige Rochelle, Ashley Taylor.
(click on photo to enlarge)

Freshman Zahri Jackson, Kwame's sister, placed fifth out of 41 in the 5,000-meter race in 20:04.6, the seventh-best time in XU history. Freshman teammate Catherine Fakler was eighth in 20:20.2 with the 12th-fastest time in school history.

Xavier's women finished second, and the men placed third in team scoring. Nicholls State won the women's title, and Louisiana-Lafayette won the men's division.

Individual winners were Ingvild Vedde of Nicholls (19:12.8) in the women's race and the Ragin' Cajuns' Zachary France (21:36.4) in the men's.

It was the third competition of the season for Xavier, which will run next Saturday morning in the LSU Invitational at Baton Rouge, La.

Results:  Men    Women

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

XU Rush to play 15 at home, exhibition at Vandy, 2 with UNO

Gold Rush Head Coach Dannton Jackson
(Photo Courtesy: Xavier University Sports Information)

NEW ORLEANS — Fifteen home games, back-to-back road exhibitions against NCAA Division I opponents and eight matchups against city schools are among the highlights of the 2011-12 Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball schedule.

Ninth-year head coach Dannton Jackson announced the schedule Friday.

Xavier, 27-6 last season and No. 17 in the final NAIA Division I coaches poll, will begin its 74th season Nov. 2 against Carver College at The Barn. It will be the 18th consecutive season that the Gold Rush open at home, and the XU men will attempt to win their opener for the 16th straight season.

XU's men will play six of their first eight regular-season games at home and another stretch Jan. 10-Feb. 1 with eight of nine at The Barn. But during that early period — immediately after the Carver game — the Gold Rush will travel to play NCAA D-I opponents Western Kentucky on Nov. 5 and Vanderbilt on Nov. 7. It will be the third straight season that Xavier visits the Hilltoppers and the first time that the Rush meet an SEC team in an exhibition.

The schedule contains the annual Gulf Coast Athletic Conference home-and-away matchups with city rivals SUNO and Dillard — Dillard will visit Xavier on Jan. 28 for the Crosstown Classic, part of Rush/Nuggets Alumni Weekend — and there will be two games apiece against Loyola and the University of New Orleans.

UNO, still classified as Division I but transitioning to NCAA Division II, will play host to the Gold Rush on Jan. 4 and visit The Barn on Feb. 1. It will be the first time that XU and UNO meet in the regular season since Feb. 11, 1976, and it will be the Privateers' second visit to The Barn — the first was on Feb. 15, 1974.

Loyola will visit Xavier on Nov. 29 and play host to the Gold Rush on Dec. 17.

For the second straight season there will be consecutive games against longtime rival Wiley, starting with a Nov. 19 matchup during Xavier's homecoming. The Rush also will play home-and-away non-conference series with Mobile, St. Thomas (Fla.) and William Carey. Xavier will play twice in south Florida between Christmas and New Year's Day for the third straight season.

The GCAC schedule will include Xavier's first-ever league matchups with Edward Waters and Fisk, which joined the league in 2010, and with Philander Smith, which joined in July. Talladega, the other GCAC school to join in July, returns after a three-year stint from 1999-2002. The conference will employ its traditional double round-robin scheduling after an unbalanced league schedule last season. Edward Waters and Jacksonville, Fla., will play host to the GCAC Tournament for the second straight year.

The GCAC will crown a regular-season and tournament champion, and the latter will receive an automatic bid to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship at Kansas City, Mo. Xavier qualified for nationals last season as an at-large selection and reached the tournament for the fifth time in seven seasons.

2011-12 Xavier University Men's Basketball Schedule Click here for an alternative link to the basketball schedule Nov. 2 (Wed.):  CARVER, 7 p.m. Nov. 5 (Sat.):  at Western Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. (exhibition) Nov. 7 (Mon.):  at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (exhibition) Nov. 11 (Fri.):  ST. THOMAS (FLA.), 7 p.m. Nov. 14 (Mon.):  at Mobile, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 (Sat.):  WILEY (DH), 2 p.m. (Homecoming) Nov. 26 (Sat.):  at Wiley, 2 p.m. Nov. 29 (Tue.):  LOYOLA (DH), 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 (Sat.):  CONCORDIA (ALA.) (DH), 4 p.m. Dec. 6 (Tue.):  MOBILE, 7 p.m. Dec. 13 (Tue.):  at William Carey, 7 p.m. Dec. 17 (Sat.):  at Loyola (DH), 4 p.m. Dec. 28 (Wed.):  Florida Memorial, 5 p.m. EST (St. Thomas Classic) Dec. 29 (Thu.):  at St. Thomas (Fla.), 7 p.m. EST (St. Thomas Classic) Jan. 4 (Wed.):  at New Orleans, 7 p.m. Jan. 7 (Sat.):  • at Philander Smith, noon Jan. 10 (Tue.):  • SUNO (DH), 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13 (Fri.):  • EDWARD WATERS (DH), 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14 (Sat.):  • FISK (DH), 7 p.m. Jan. 16 (Mon.):  • PHILANDER SMITH (DH), 7 p.m. Jan. 21 (Sat.):  • TALLADEGA (DH), 7 p.m. Jan. 23 (Mon.):  • at Tougaloo, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 (Sat.):  • DILLARD (DH), 7 p.m. (Crosstown Classic and Rush/Nuggets Alumni Weekend) Jan. 30 (Mon.):  WILLIAM CAREY, 7 p.m. Feb. 1 (Wed.):  NEW ORLEANS, 7 p.m. Feb. 6 (Mon.):  • at SUNO, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 (Sat.):  • at Talladega, 7 p.m. Feb. 13 (Mon.):  • TOUGALOO, 7:30 p.m. (Senior Night) Feb. 18 (Sat.):  • at Edward Waters, 4 p.m. EST Feb. 20 (Mon.):  • at Fisk, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 (Sat.):  • at Dillard, 7 p.m. (Allstate Sugar Bowl Bleu Devil Classic) March 1-3 (Thu.-Sat):  GCAC Tournament, Jacksonville, Fla. March 14-20 (Wed.-Tue.):  Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship, Kansas City, Mo. Home games in (in bold and CAPITAL LETTERS) are played at The Barn (capacity 1,300), Xavier University campus, New Orleans • Gulf Coast Athletic Conference game DH — doubleheader with Xavier's women TBA — To be announced All times are Central except where noted Call (504) 520-7329 for ticket information

Ed Cassiere

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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