TALLADEGA, Alabama — Hot-shooting Talladega defeated Xavier University of Louisiana 83-65 in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball Saturday.
The Tornadoes (18-6, 6-3) became the first GCAC team in 14 years to shoot 60 percent from the floor against the Gold Rush (13-11, 4-4). Talladega made 30-of-49 attempts for a season-high 61.2 percent.
Dondre Alexander and Jarin Hilson scored 15 points apiece for Talladega, and Da'Jon Streeter had 14. Hilson and Charles Shaw had seven assists apiece.
Damani Flanagain, in double figures for the third consecutive game, scored 13 points for XULA. Rayshawn Mart and William Loyd scored 11 points apiece.
Flanagain's basket at 15:48 of the first half gave XULA its final lead at 6-5. Talladega led 40-29 at halftime after a 12-4 run and by double digits for the final 17:19.
XULA missed its first 11 3-point attempts before hitting three, two by Ed Carter, in the final eight minutes.
Talladega, the NAIA Division I leader in rebound margin, outrebounded the Gold Rush 34-17.
XULA will visit GCAC opponent Edward Waters at 7:30 p.m. EST Monday in Jacksonville, Fla. It will be the third Gold Rush road game in five days. XULA is in fifth place in the GCAC and a game ahead of Edward Waters.
BOX SCORE
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
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TALLADEGA, Alabama — Xavier University of Louisiana lost its lead in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball Saturday when Talladega defeated the Gold Nuggets 73-63.
The Gold Nuggets (17-6, 7-1) will stay on the road and play Edward Waters in a GCAC game at 5:30 p.m. EST Monday in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Lady Tornadoes (22-3, 8-1), ranked 13th in the NAIA, got 16 points from Jazmin Nelson and 13 apiece from Brijanee Moore and Kendra Williams to take sole possession of first place and snap XULA's 14-game winning streak in GCAC regular-season games.
Essence Wells scored a career-high 21 points for XULA, but no teammate scored more than six. Mikayla Bates grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and had a season-high six assists.
XULA's Jas Hill, the reigning GCAC Player of the Week, picked up two fouls in the first 80 seconds and scored a season-low four points before fouling out. The Gold Nuggets committed a season-worst 29 fouls, nine on offense.
Talladega built 14-point leads in both halves and led 36-27 at halftime. XULA got as close as 47-42 after Gina Smith's basket at 1:40 of the third quarter and 50-44 on a Bates basket to start the fourth period, but the Gold Nuggets came no closer thereafter.
Both teams shot 36 percent from the floor. XULA committed a season-worst 29 turnovers, 21 in the first half. Talladega dominated at the line, making 26-of-32 free throws to the Gold Nuggets' 14-of-18.
BOX SCORE
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
MOBILE, Alabama — Xavier University of Louisiana's Mariia Borodii extended her singles win streak Saturday, but South Alabama earned a pair of dual-match victories: 6-1 against the Gold Nuggets and 7-0 over the Gold Rush.
Borodii, the ITA/NAIA National Rookie of the Year last season, defeated Yurie Takanishi 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles to improve to 17-0 all-time in dual-match singles competition.
The Gold Nuggets (1-1) narrowly missed winning two additional singles matches. Angela Charles-Alfred lost 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 to Nikola Kohoutova — Charled-Alfred led 4-1 in the third-set tiebreaker — and Charlene Goreau lost 6-4, 3-5, 7-5 to Yu Fujioka, who overcame six match points.
The XULA men, in their first dual of 2019, did not win any sets. Shaikh Abdullah lost 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 3 to Loic Cloes — a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference player in 2018 — in the closest singles match.
South Alabama's women are 4-0, and its men are 2-2. The Jaguars compete in NCAA Division I, and their men won the Sun Belt championship last season; both XULA teams are ranked third in the NAIA.
"Today we fought hard, both men and women," 16th-year XULA coach Alan Green said. "We had some good chances on the women's side that we just couldn't capitalize on. It's a credit to South Alabama for keeping us at bay. Overall I'm good with the effort we showed. Now it's time to get ready for the next one."
The Gold Nuggets will visit another DI opponent, the University of New Orleans, at 4 p.m. next Saturday. The following day the Nuggets and Rush will play host to another city rival, Loyola, at noon at XULA Tennis Center.
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
