Gold Nuggets defeat Dillard, will get rematch Friday

NEW ORLEANS — Whitney Gathright's second double-double of the season and Jasmine Bush's three free throws with 53 seconds remaining helped Xavier University of Louisiana defeat Dillard 63-57 Saturday in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball.
    
The Gold Nuggets (19-11, 7-5) and Lady Bleu Devils (9-17, 4-8) will be rematched Friday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament at SUNO. Xavier is seeded third, and Dillard is sixth. The GCAC will announce game times Sunday.
    
Gathright, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds, made a 3-pointer with 2:53 remaining to put Xavier ahead to stay, 55-54. After three consecutive scoreless possessions, Bush extended the Gold Nuggets' lead to 58-54 when she drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with three seconds remaining on the shot clock. Bush made all the free throws, and they were her only points of the game.
 
 "I drew contact, and I played it well," Bush said. "I was calm, I was ready for it. I had been practicing free throws all week for it."
    
Dillard trailed 23-14 after one quarter and 31-28 at halftime but took a 42-36 lead on Shaelynn Moore's two free throws at 2:23 of the third quarter. Xavier rallied to lead 46-44 at the end of the period.
    
Trana Hopkins had 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals for Xavier, and Ariel Sneed had a career-high-tying seven points and a career-best nine rebounds in her first start for the Gold Nuggets.
    
Dillard outshot Xavier 39.3 to 27.3 percent from the floor, but the Gold Nuggets made 22-of-29 free throws to Dillard's 7-of-13. Xavier outrebounded Dillard 58-28 and used a season-best 26 offensive rebounds to produce an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points.
    
Alyssa Washington scored 15 points, Alena Evans 12, Moore 11 and Keona Favis 10 for Dillard. Shantrell Lumar had a career-high 11 assists. Dillard is 0-5, including two home losses, since winning 57-52 at Xavier Feb. 6.

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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Bleu Devils prevail 67-63 in OT against Gold Rush

NEW ORLEANS — Demetric Austin had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Jesse Ward scored six points in overtime Saturday to help NAIA No. 25 Dillard edge Xavier University of Louisiana 67-63 in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball at Dillard's Dent Hall.
    
The Bleu Devils (18-10, 8-4) secured No. 2 seed for the conference tournament, which will begin Friday. The Gold Rush (19-11, 6-6) will be seeded fourth.
    
Ward's basket at 4:40 of overtime put Dillard ahead to stay, 56-54. Xavier had two chances to tie in the final 20 seconds but missed a shot on one possession and committed a turnover on the other. Austin and teammate Dennis Hightower made 1-of-2 free throws apiece to close the scoring.
    
Austin also had four assists, a block and three steals, and the double-double was his GCAC-leading 10th of the season and second against Xavier. Ward finished with 12 points, and Dennis Reed had eight points and eight rebounds.
    
Morris Wright had 18 points, five assists and two steals for Xavier. Gary Smith scored 13 points, and RJ Daniels had seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. Chris Ward and Elex Carter grabbed seven rebounds apiece.
    
In the second half, Dillard rallied from a 44-35 deficit to take a 54-52 lead on a Montrey Thomas basket — his only points of the game — with 16 seconds remaining. Smith tied the score and forced overtime with a basket with 7.7 seconds remaining.
    
Xavier outshot Dillard 49 to 33.3 percent from the floor, but the Bleu Devils made 21-of-30 free throws to Xavier's 10-of-17. Dillard outrebounded Xavier 46-29 and had advantages of 23-4 in offensive rebounds and 16-0 in second-chance points. The Gold Rush limited Dillard to its fourth-lowest point total of the season and nearly 20 points below the Bleu Devils' season scoring average of 85.2.
    
Jesse Ward's basket at 9:24 of the first half gave Dillard a 20-13 lead, but a Kevin Murph 3-pointer in the 17th minute started a 10-2 run that gave the Gold Rush a 33-27 lead at halftime.
    
Dillard defeated its longtime city and GCAC rival for the first time since 2013 and the first time on its home floor since 2001. Xavier had won six straight overall and 11 straight at Dent Hall against the Bleu Devils. Xavier leads the series 84-50.
    
Xavier will return to Dillard to play fifth-seeded Tougaloo Friday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament. The GCAC will announce starting times Sunday.

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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Jackson State toughs out win against MVSU

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State has never really concerned itself with winning pretty.

That was certainly the case against Mississippi Valley State, as Paris Collins played despite nursing a nagging shoulder injury and Chace Franklin sat out with a sling on his left arm.

Even with the wear and tear, the Tigers pulled out an 60-49 victory against the Delta Devils at the Lee E. Williams AAC on Saturday night.

"The biggest thing for us right now is just to survive and get through games," JSU coach Wayne Brent said. "You have Gator Worsham, who is banged up. We have Paris Collins, who has an (injured) shoulder. We played without Chace Franklin. Right now we're trying to survive, get through games and battle through them and be tough.

"The thing about it is we have tough guys and battle through injuries."

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Southern women’s win streak ends at five in 85-74 loss to Alcorn State

LORMAN, Mississippi — The Southern women had won five consecutive games to regain control of their fate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference race.

But on Saturday, the winning streak came to an end and the Jaguars title hopes diminished in an 85-74 loss to Alcorn State in the Davey L. Whitney Complex.

Southern couldn’t stop the Lady Braves from getting to the basket, never got into a rhythm offensively and couldn’t overcome foul trouble.

As a result the Jaguars (15-10, 12-4) are two games behind first-place Texas Southern, which comes to the F.G. Clark Activity on Thursday for the second-to-last game of the regular season.
Alcorn, which lost to Southern 66-57 four weeks ago, is 6-10 and 9-17 after winning for the fifth time in six games.

“We didn’t have any intensity whatsoever from start to finish,” said forward Briana Green, whose performance mirrored that of the team as she scored 21 of her 25 points during a frenzied fourth-quarter attempt to overcome an 18-point deficit.

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Texas Southern Lady Tigers inch closer to regular season title

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Texas Southern University Lady Tiger's basketball team looked like a well-oiled machine on Saturday night as they cruised to an easy 70-41 win over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.

The win is the third straight for the Lady Tigers and pushes their overall record to 17-8.  More importantly, the victory inches the team closer to a regular season Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.  TSU is now 13-2 in SWAC play with three contests left in conference.

The Lady Tigers got contributions from a myriad of sources as three TSU players scored in double-digits and eight different players got on the board.  Keiana Vines led all scorers with 16 points.  She did much of her damage by way of the free-throw line as she hit 8-9 shots from the charity stripe.

Vines also added 8 rebounds.  She got lots of help from Brianna Sidney and Joyce Kennerson.  Sidney finished with 13 points and spaced the floor, going 3-8 on three-point attempts.  She also chipped in 5 boards.  Kennerson scored 14 points and knocked down two three-pointers of her own. 

While the team's offensive performance was impressive, the Lady Tigers also brought the intensity on the defensive side of the ball.  TSU's hard-nosed defense forced 27 Lady Bulldog turnovers.  The Lady Tigers finished the contest with 12 steals.  Vines made her presence felt down low as she rejected five Lady Bulldog shots.  Not to be outdone, Kennerson was pesky all night and came away with 4 steals. TSU held AAMU to 31.8 percent shooting from the field, and were even stingier in the second half as the Bulldogs only made 28 percent of their shots after halftime.

The Lady Tigers are in control of their own destiny in terms of winning the SWAC.  With the win, the team is now up 1.5 games over second-placed Southern University.

The Lady Tigers will try to expand that lead and close in on a conference championship in their next contest on Monday night when they welcome the Alabama State Lady Hornets to the HPE Arena.  Come cheer on TSU in their final home game of the season and show your appreciation for the hard work and dedication the seniors have invested during their time at the university.

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Gold Nuggets beat Belhaven, Tougaloo on the road

JACKSON, Mississippi — Xavier University of Louisiana improved its women's tennis win streak to three Friday with victories against Belhaven and Tougaloo. The Gold Nuggets defeated the Blazers 5-3, then beat the Lady Bulldogs 6-0.

The Gold Nuggets (4-3), ranked 13th in the NAIA, have a three-dual win streak.
    
Xavier's Sha'Nel Bruins, Charlene Goreau, Tess Guarino and Dasia Harris went 2-0 in singles. After losing 2-of-3 doubles matches against Belhaven (4-2), the Gold Nuggets won 4-of-5 singles matches, and Bruins clinched with her 7-5, 6-4 victory against Mary Lichlyter.
    
Bruins is 5-1 in singles this semester and has a four-match win streak.
    
Guarino clinched against Tougaloo when she defeated Sakehenna Jones 8-0. Xavier and the Lady Bulldogs played pro-set singles matches, and Tougaloo (1-6) defaulted at the sixth flight. Doubles matches were not played.
    
Goreau and Jana van der Walt also won 8-0 against Tougaloo. Goreau's singles win streak is three.
    
The Gold Nuggets' next dual will start at 3 p.m. Friday at NAIA No. 6 William Carey in Hattiesburg, Miss. That will be the first of three duals in three days for the XU women.

Results vs. Belhaven  /  Tougaloo

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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2015-16 SIAC Men's Basketball All-Conference Awards Announced

ATLANTA. Georgia – Stillman's Rodnerius Lewis was named the 2016 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Men's Basketball Player of the Year, as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

Also earning top honors for Stillman were Ronald Singleton who was named the Newcomer of the Year along with head coach Donte Jackson who was selected as the Coach of the Year.

Austin Lawton (Claflin) was picked as the Defensive Player of the Year and Sawyer Glick (Spring Hill) was named Freshman of the Year.

Lewis, a 6-4 senior guard from Memphis, Tenn. leads the SIAC in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. He recorded 13 20-point games and has shot 48.9 percent from the field this season. Lewis has averaged 4.5 rebounds a game and finished the regular season with 48 assists, 43 steals, and 21 blocks.

In his first season in the SIAC, Singleton has averaged 13.7 points a game along with 6.9 rebounds per game. The 6-7 junior forward from Milwaukee, Wis., has also recorded 40 assists, 22 blocks and 20 steals.

Lawton, a 6-8 center from Eutawville, S.C. averaged 6.9 rebounds throughout the regular season. The redshirt-freshman is first in the conference in blocks (2.8) and is 10^th in NCAA Division II Men's Basketball.

Glick led Spring Hill in scoring with 15.8 points a game which is ninth in the league. A, 6-4 small forward from Columbus, Ind., Glick finished the season with 51 assists, 22 steals, and nine blocks. He also led the Badgers in 3-pointers (62) and averaged 4.3 rebounds a game.

Jackson led Stillman to a 22-5 overall record and a 16-1 mark in the SIAC. The Tigers who are the 2016 SIAC West Division Champions, enter next week's conference tournament on a 13-game winning streak. Stillman leads the SIAC in scoring offense (85.9), scoring margin (13.9), field goal percentage defense (40.2), 3-point field goal defense (29.3), assists per game (15.1), and defensive rebounds (29.19).

Joining Lewis, Singleton, and Glick on the all-conference first team are Terrance Bridgeman (Lane) and Arnis Libazs (Paine).

Highlighting the all-conference second team are Lawton, Maiscel Grier (Miles), Larry McGaughey (LeMoyne-Owen), Kendarius Ash (Lane), and Justin Street (LeMoyne-Owen).

The 2016 SIAC Basketball Tournament is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 29 – Saturday, March 5 at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Ala. For tickets, events, and more, CLICK HERE.

Player of the Year
Rodnerius Lewis (Stillman)

Defensive Player of the Year
Austin Lawton (Claflin)

Newcomer of the Year
Ronald Singleton (Stillman)

Freshman of the Year
Sawyer Glick (Spring Hill)

Coach of the Year
Donte Jackson (Stillman)

2015-16 All-SIAC Men's Basketball First Team

Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
Rodnerius Lewis	Stillman	G	6-4	Sr.	Memphis, Tenn.
Terrance Bridgeman	Lane	G	6-3	Jr.	South Bend, Ind.
Ronald Singleton	Stillman	F	6-7	Jr.	Milwaukee, Wis.
Sawyer Glick	Spring Hill	F	6-4	R-Fr.	Columbus, Ind.
Arnis Libazs	Paine	C	6-8	Sr.	Riga, Latvia

2015-16 All-SIAC Men's Basketball Second Team

Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
Maiscel Grier	Miles	G	6-1	Jr.	Las Vegas, NV
Larry McGaughey	LeMoyne-Owen	G	6-5	Sr.	Memphis, Tenn.
Kendarius Ash	Lane	F	6-7	R-Fr.	Decatur, Ga.
Justin Street	LeMoyne-Owen	F	6-6	Jr.	Memphis, Tenn.
Austin Lawton	Claflin	C	6-8	R-Fr.	Eutawville, S.C.