Box Score  

    NEW ORLEANS — Alfred Williams scored a layup with three seconds remaining Thursday to give NAIA No. 13 Xavier University of Louisiana a 43-42 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over SUNO at the Delgado Community College Gym.
     Williams, who finished with seven points and a career-high 14 rebounds, won an on-the-floor scramble for the rebound of a missed 3-pointer by SUNO's Dominic Perry with 8.5 seconds remaining. After a Xavier timeout, Williams took a pass from Kelechi Okoroha near midcourt, outraced SUNO to the basket and scored to give the Gold Rush (19-4 overall, 9-2 GCAC) its sixth consecutive victory and fifth in a row on the road.
     Perry, 0-of-6 from the floor in the second half, then missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
     Okoroha, with 16 points, was the only double-figure scorer. Okoroha also blocked a career-high three shots.
     Perry and Billy Wilson scored eight points apiece for SUNO (4-13, 1-10), which has lost four straight. Perry scored all his points in the first half to lead the Knights to a 25-16 advantage at the break. Wilson's basket made it 27-16 with 19:32 remaining, then Xavier rallied and took its first lead, 29-27, on Mark Stewart's 3-pointer at 15:12.
     There were five lead changes and six ties in the final 16 minutes. Kevin Thomas' 3-pointer, his third of the season, gave SUNO a 42-39 lead with 2:01 remaining, but the Knights failed to score in their final three possessions.
     Stewart, Xavier's leading scorer for the season, was scoreless in the first half and finished with a season-low five to end his streak of 18 consecutive double-figure games. He made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 1:30 remaining to cut SUNO's lead to 42-41.
     It was the lowest-scoring game in the series, which started in 1970-71 and covers 83 games. Xavier leads the series 58-25 and has won the past seven meetings. Xavier is 2-0 this season against SUNO, winning the first game 76-74 at The Barn on Jan. 10. The 43 points were Xavier's fewest in a game since a 42-36 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas during the 1996-97 season. Before Thursday, Xavier had not scored 43 or fewer points and won since a 35-33 decision over Clark in the 1948-49 season.
     Xavier remained tied for second place in the GCAC with Mobile and one game behind fourth-ranked LSU-Shreveport. Both teams will play GCAC games at 7 p.m. Saturday. Xavier will play Belhaven at The Barn, and SUNO will visit Tougaloo.