NEW ORLEANS — Four days after defeating Philander Smith in the regular-season finale, Xavier University of Louisiana will get another look at the Panthers in a win-or-go-home scenario.
     The Gold Rush (17-13) and the Panthers (11-18) will meet at 11 a.m. EST Friday in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Jacksonville, Fla. The venue will be the Adams-Jenkins Sports and Music Complex (1859 Kings Road, zip code 32209) at Edward Waters College.
     XULA is seeded fourth, and Philander is fifth.
     XULA head coach Alfred Williams isn't a fan of playing the same opponent in consecutive games, but he's certain of what his team must do to advance to Saturday's semifinals.
     "We have to be able to match Philander Smith's toughness, and we have to able to execute," Williams said. "Philander is a scrappy, tough, defensive-minded team. They will make adjustments after Monday's game."
     Monday's game was one of XULA's best of the season: a 93-76 home victory. William Loyd and Ed Carter scored 27 points apiece for the Gold Rush, and Carter made eight 3s to tie the XULA game record.
     There have been other highlights this season — including Rayshawn Mart's last-second scores in victories against William Carey, Virgin Islands and Campbellsville — but this year's Gold Rush team enters the postseason with five fewer victories than it had a year ago. Last season the Gold Rush finished 24-9, shared the GCAC regular-season championship with Dillard, lost to the Bleu Devils in the GCAC Tournament final, then earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Division I National Championship tournament.
     "This has been a roller coaster season that didn't quite meet expectations," Williams said. "But we are excited about going to the conference tournament with some momentum and think we can keep it going. Hopefully we have learned from our setbacks during the regular season. I really feel that we haven't peaked yet — we haven't played our best basketball yet."
     The XULA men may be on the right track. They closed the regular season with three straight double-digit home victories against GCAC opponents. Conversely, the Gold Rush were 1-5 against the three teams ahead of them in the conference standings: Tougaloo (0-2), Talladega (0-2) and Dillard (1-1).
     Loyd, a 6-foot-5 junior forward from Baton Rouge, La., leads the Gold Rush with 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Mart (6-3 sophomore guard, Houma, La.) averages 12.3 points, Carter (6-1 sophomore guard, Detroit) averages 10.0, and Jeff Dixon (6-2 senior guard, New Orleans) averages 9.8.
     The XULA-Philander Smith winner will play top-seeded Tougaloo (ranked fourth nationally) or eighth-seeded Rust in the semifinals at 7 p.m. EST Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. EST Sunday. The tournament champion will receive the GCAC's automatic bid to the national tournament March 20-26 at Kansas City, Mo.
     If the Gold Rush win the GCAC Tournament, it will be a major drought-breaker. The XULA men have not won this event since it beat SUNO 81-66 in the final on March 2, 1996, at Mobile, Ala.