Box Score  

    HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Kelechi Okoroha scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds Thursday to lead Xavier Unversity of Louisiana to a 54-51 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over William Carey.
     The victory, Xavier's first on the road in more than a month, moved the Gold Rush (18-9 overall, 10-5 GCAC) into a second-place tie in the conference with LSU-Shreveport, an 86-71 loser at Mobile.
     Shaun Dumas also scored 14 points for Xavier, which won for the fourth time in five games.
     Dexter Middleton scored 14 for William Carey (8-17, 3-12), which dropped its fifth straight.
     Xavier led the final 35:55 but never by more than eight points. William Carey's Anthony Wilcher missed a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining. The Rush preserved its lead by making 7-of-8 free throws in the final 2:35.
     Wilcher's 3-point play with 1:38 remaining cut Xavier's lead to 47-46, but Dumas answered with a basket 29 seconds later. Another 3-point play by Terry Wade cut Xavier's lead to 51-49 with 17 seconds remaining, but Dumas responded with two free throws.
     William Carey has lost nine straight to Xavier, but both games this season were three-point decisions.
     Xavier and William Carey will play GCAC road games at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Rush will travel to Mobile, and the Crusaders will visit SUNO.