NEW ORLEANS — William Loyd and Jeff Dixon led a second-half rally Saturday that gave Xavier University of Louisiana an 83-76 men's basketball victory against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic.
A Convocation Center-record crowd of 3,348 watched the Gold Rush (12-9, 3-3 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) defeat the Bleu Devils (11-7, 4-2) for the first time in eight games.
Loyd scored 22 points and was 8-of-11 from the floor. Dixon produced 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
XULA trailed 26-15 in the 12th minute but cut Dillard's lead to 36-35 by halftime. In the second half Loyd scored 16 points, and Dixon had 11 points and five assists.
Dixon's basket with 8:45 remaining put the Gold Rush ahead to stay, 56-55. XULA led by four points or more for the final 5:34.
Anfernee King scored a career-best 13 points for XULA — he was 5-of-7 from the floor — and Galen Smith scored 11.
Rick Curry produced 26 points and seven rebounds for the Bleu Devils. Xavian Mckay had 14 points and six assists, and Jeron Rogers had 12 points and six rebounds.
XULA outshot Dillard 56.4 to 53.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bleu Devils 33-24. In the second half XULA shot 61.3 percent from the floor (19-of-31) and committed four turnovers.
It was the 142nd meeting in a series that began in 1948. The Gold Rush lead the series 85-57. XULA will visit Dillard Feb. 16.
Next for XULA will be a visit to GCAC and city rival SUNO at 7:30 p.m. Monday — the first of four consecutive road games.
BOX SCORE
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for CommunicationsDepartment of Athletics & RecreationXAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA XULAgold.com
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NEW ORLEANS — Jas Hill scored 27 points Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 66-54 women's basketball victory against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic at XULA's Convocation Center.
The Gold Nuggets (16-5, 6-0) took sole possession of first place in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Dillard (14-7, 6-1) dropped into a second-place tie with Talladega.
Hill was 9-of-13 from the floor and had five rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes. She scored 15 points in the second half.
XULA trailed 17-12 after one quarter but outscored the Lady Bleu Devils in each of the last three quarters. XULA led 30-28 at halftime and took the lead for good, 43-40, on a Jalyn Hodge 3-pointer at 2:08 of the third period.
Two Hill free throws in the final minute gave the Gold Nuggets their largest lead, 66-50.
Joi Simmons had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals for XULA. Nahrie Pierce had seven points and nine rebounds. Maya Trench grabbed seven rebounds.
Adriiana Jackson scored 13 points and Alyssa Washington 11 for Dillard.
XULA outshot Dillard 43.1 to 31 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Lady Bleu Devils 45-31.
The victory assured XULA of finishing the year with a winning record for the 18th consecutive season. The Gold Nuggets will visit GCAC and city rival SUNO at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
BOX SCORE
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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NEW ORLEANS — For the second straight year at Xavier University of Louisiana Athletics, the Sister Grace Mary Flickinger Honor Roll broke a school record with more than 100 honorees.
This time the record is 128 qualifiers in 2018 — a 25-percent increase from 102 in 2017.
Flickinger Honor Roll honorees are athletes, managers, graduate assistants and spirit-squad performers who passed 12 or more hours with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average during the spring 2018 semester or the fall 2018 semester. Students in graduate school must pass six hours. The students were recognized Saturday during the XULA-Dillard basketball Crosstown Classic at the Convocation Center.
"With our department the biggest it has ever been, we are proud to say that our student-athletes' classroom success continues to excel," Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Director of Athletics & Recreation Jason Horn said. "Academics builds the foundation for our student-athletes' success beyond the Xavier community, and our department and the Xavier community can be extremely proud of what they have accomplished."
This is the fifth year of the awards, previously known as the Athletic Director's Honor Roll but renamed in 2017 to honor a longtime XULA biology faculty member and faculty athletics representative. Flickinger retired from XULA after the 2016-17 academic year and described herself Friday as "one of the healthiest 83-year-olds you can imagine. I am blessed.
"I am overwhelmed to have my name attached to this honor," Flickinger said. "One of my greatest joys in religious life has been my involvement with the hard-working good students in Xavier Athletics."
The following are members of the Flickinger Honor Roll for their 2018 academic achievements (all are athletes unless noted):
Men's Basketball
Donovan Armstrong
Ed Carter
Bradley Dunn (manager)
Khalil McCoy
Dalen Wigley-Jones (manager)
Men's Cross Country/Track and Field
Ayinde Abanu
Kadeem Burton
Keairez Coleman
Devin Dumas
Ethan Gipson
Elijah Johnson-Henderson
Kyle Logan
Evan Simmons
Oji Wells
Ammiel Williams
Men's Tennis
Shaikh Abdullah
Chris Anders
Pierre Andrieu
Samir Chikhaoui
Catalin Fifea
Gabriel Niculescu
Santiago Perez
Women's Basketball
Mikayla Bates
Shaun Borne (manager)
Alexis Burke (also a member of women's track and field)
Adriana Fernandez
Anica Gacevic
Kyle Grant (manager)
Jalyn Hodge
Jordyn Jackson (manager)
Shaelyn Johnson
Taylor Jones
Ireyon Keith (also a member of women's track and field)
Eden Keller (manager)
Jayla Nichols
Kennedy Righteous (manager)
Kelsee Singleton (graduate assistant)
Gina Smith
Maya Trench
Essence Wells
Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
Maya Alexander
Clarke Allen
Alexis Burke (also a member of women's basketball)
Drew Chatters
Ariel Ford
Junine Goodison
Dorian Hill
Chinyere Jones
Janelle Jones
Ireyon Keith (also a member of women's basketball)
Hajjia Mohammed
Niyah Odum
Brianna Pace
Celita-Ashley Pope
Taylor Price
Justyce Riggs
Raven Riley
Hillary Smith
Alysia Terry
Bria Ward
Alexis Williams
Ariane Williams
Calah Williams
Karyn Wilson (manager)
Women's Tennis
Nour Abbes (graduate assistant)
Lacee Ancar
Julia Anglin
Angela Charles-Alfred
Charlene Goreau
Yi Chen Pao
Women's Volleyball
Damilola Dada
Micah Daggs (manager)
Jaida Dowd
Monet Fontaine
Beatrice Formilan
Amanda Perry
Vivica Price-Spraggins
Adili Rikondja
Kaelan Temple
Spirit Groups
(Cheerleaders, Gold Star Dancers, Golden Girls Pom Squad)
Asha Abiade
Cayla Adams
Jada Adams
Alexis Arceneaux
Mizani Ball
Kyla Baron
Kayla Beamon
Kelsi Bradford
Amyre Brandom
La'Tia Brown
Elexie Bryant
Tiffany Charlot
Tasia Clark
Tatiana Collins
Kiara Davillier
Chasity Davis
Demadria Davis
Alexus Dogan
Angelica Franklin
Kelsey Green
Angelle Guillard
Sarah Hale
Saraiah Harris
Kiara Hawkins
Ta'nia Higginbotham
Christina Hodges
Tiffany Hogan
Aiyana Hudson
Sydney Hughes
Alexis Hunter
Curjie Jalauni
Niya Jeter-Lockett
Arielle Jones
Breanna Jones
Maya Lawrence
Akili Lewis
Megan Littleton
Iesha Moreland
Clover Moten
Ma-Jeanne Nganga
Kiara Norman
Maya Phillips
Jorian Reeves
Imanaee Ryan
Courtney Smith
Milana Thompson
Eryn Townsend
Deja Turner
M'ya Washington
Joya Wright
Shaune Yancey
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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