Box Score

     NEW ORLEANS — The Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball team answered Saturday when opportunity knocked.
     The Gold Rush, which began the day one game behind Tougaloo in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, defeated longtime city rival Dillard 67-43 at Dent Hall to get a share of the GCAC's regular-season championship.
     SUNO put Xavier in position to tie for the title when it beat Tougaloo 71-65 at The Castle earlier in the day.
     Denzell Erves had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Gold Rush (22-7 overall, 11-3 GCAC), ranked 25th in NAIA Division I, and Anthony Simmons had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
     It's Xavier's first conference title since a share of the GCAC regular season with Tougaloo in 2006-07.
     All eight teams will compete Thursday in the opening round of the GCAC Tournament at Jacksonville, Fla.
     Chris Iles had 10 points, five assists and four steals for Xavier.
     "I'm excited for our team," ninth-year XU coach Dannton Jackson said. "I'm excited for our seniors going out with a conference title. We battled adversity all year, but we played well down the stretch and put ourselves in position to challenge for the championship."
     Xavier finished the regular season with eight victories in nine games, including a 67-61 home victory against Tougaloo in which the Gold Rush rallied from 16 down in the second half.
     There was no comeback at Dillard. Xavier scored the first nine points and led 23-8 in the 12th minute after Simmons made 1-of-2 free throws. Xavier led 39-24 at halftime, and the final margin was the largest of the game.
     Lance Theard had 12 points and six rebounds for Dillard (1-28, 1-13), which lost its 10th in a row.
     Xavier outshot the Bleu Devils 53.1 to 31.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 40-24.