Box Score      NEW ORLEANS — Sophomore guard Wanto Joseph scored 15 of his season-high 16 points in the second half Saturday to rally NAIA No. 12 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 77-67 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over No. 21 Tougaloo.
     It was the GCAC opener for the Gold Rush (18-2) and the Bulldogs (15-4) and the 16th consecutive home victory for Xavier.
     Kevin Miller had a career-high 13 points and a season-best seven rebounds for Xavier, and Denzell Erves had 12 points and six rebounds. Chris Iles, the GCAC leader in assists, had seven.
     Donteeno Todd scored 15 points, all on 3-pointers, for Tougaloo. Marquise Mems scored 12, amd Mario Luckett had 10.
     Todd had nine points to lead Tougaloo to a 34-30 halftime advantage, but Xavier took control by outscoring the Bulldogs 23-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Joseph was 7-of-7 from the floor in the second half, and his basket with 2:15 remaining gave Xavier its largest lead, 71-56.
     Xavier outshot Tougaloo 52 to 42 percent from the floor — 61 to 41 percent in the second half. The Gold Rush made 16-of-25 free throws, and Tougaloo made 7-of-18.
     Xavier extended its win streak to four and snapped Tougaloo's six-game win streak. The Gold Rush will play Mobile at 7:30 p.m. Monday at The Barn.