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        NEW ORLEANS — Third-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana will play sixth-seeded Southwest (N.M.) at 9:45 a.m. CST Friday in the men's basketball quarterfinals of the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament at Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, La.
        Eight of the RRAC's 11 teams qualified. The champion will receive an automatic bid to NAIA nationals, which will begin March 7 and conclude March 21.
        If XULA advances, it would play in the semifinals against second-seeded Texas A&M-Texarkana or seventh-seeded Our Lady of the Lake at 1 p.m. Saturday. The championship game will tip off at 2 p.m. Sunday.
        The Gold Rush are 19-8 overall and tied for second in the RRAC regular-season standings with TAMUT at 14-6. XULA lost a tiebreaker with TAMUT for the No. 2 seed. The Mustangs are 12-15 overall, 8-12 RRAC and tied for sixth with OLLU and Louisiana Christian.
        XULA and Southwest split their two regular-season games. The Mustangs rallied from a 15-point deficit for a 60-57 victory Dec. 3 at Hobbs, N.M., and the Gold Rush won 76-58 Jan. 21 at the Convocation Center.
        XULA statistical leaders include Xavier Reaves with 12.9 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game, 30.7 minutes per game and 33 steals, Jathen Ross with 32 made 3-pointers, TJ Jones with 70 assists, 82.1-percent free-throw accuracy, 25 games started and 27 games played, Brian White with 43.9-percent 3-point accuracy, Chris Ward with 58.6-percent field-goal accuracy, and Cory Wells with 19 blocked shots and 27 games played.
        XULA seeks its first conference tournament title since repeating as Gulf Coast Athletic Conference champion in 2021. This is XULA's second season in the RRAC; the Gold Rush defeated Southwest 74-58 in the opening round of the 2022 tournament, then lost 60-59 to Louisiana Christian in the semifinals.

2023 Red River Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
at Rapides Parish Coliseum, Alexandria, La.
Quarterfinals — Friday, Feb. 24
LSU-Alexandria (No. 4 seed, 18-10) vs. Louisiana Christian (No. 5 seed, 12-16), 8 a.m.
XULA (No. 3 seed, 19-8) vs. Southwest (N.M.) (No. 6 seed, 12-15), 9:45 a.m.
Texas A&M-Texarkana (No. 2 seed, 21-7) vs. Our Lady of the Lake (No. 7 seed, 13-15), 11:30 a.m.
LSU-Shreveport (No. 1 seed, 22-6) vs. Jarvis Christian (No. 8 seed, 8-16), 1:15 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, Feb. 25
XULA-Southwest winner vs. TAMUT-OLLU winner, 1 p.m.
LSUA-Louisiana Christian winner vs. LSUS-Jarvis Christian winner, 3 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, Feb. 26
Semifinal winners meet at 2 p.m.