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        ALEXANDRIA, La. — Third-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana dominated the final 14:45 to rally for a 79-63 men's basketball victory Sunday against top-seeded LSU-Shreveport in the championship game of the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.
        Tournament MVP Xavier Reaves produced his second straight double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds. All-tournament TJ Jones scored a season-high 23 points and was 10-of-14 from the floor.
        The Gold Rush (22-8) won a conference tournament for the third time in four years — the first time in more than 80 years that XULA has won at that rate — and earned an automatic bid to NAIA nationals. Opening rounds will be played March 7-8 at 16 sites.
        From 1997-2019, XULA never won a conference tournament championship and was a five-time runner-up.
        LSUS led 20-10 in the 11th minute, 34-30 at halftime, 43-34 in the 25th minute and 45-38 after Devonte Snow's layup with 14:52 remaining. But XULA seized control thereafter, outscoring the Pilots 41-18, making 14-of-18 from the floor — 2-of-3 3-pointers — and 11-of-15 free throws. During that same time LSUS was 5-of-19 from the floor, 1-of-8 on 3-pointers and 7-of-11 from the line.
        "It was our defense that got it done," seventh-year XULA head coach Alfred Williams said. "We had to get (LSUS) out of their comfort zone. Our guys did a great job shutting them down, especially in the second half."
        Overall XULA outshot the Pilots 55.4 to 36.2 percent from the floor.
        "It's all about defense," said Jones, who starts for the fourth consecutive season at point guard — and his coaches credit him as one of the primary catalysts of XULA's recent success. "We made sure we were locked in."
        Cory Wells' basket with 11:47 remaining gave XULA its first lead, 49-48. Jones' layup at 10:11 put the Gold Rush ahead to stay at 54-52.
        RRAC Player of the Year Jalen Brooks led LSUS with 19 points and 11 rebounds — but only five points and four rebounds in the second half. Calvin Carpenter scored 11 points, and Tyler Washington grabbed 13 rebounds.
        XULA denied the Pilots — 24-7 and ranked 17th nationally — a fourth consecutive RRAC Tournament title. LSUS was 2-0 against XULA during the regular season. The Pilots entered the final averaging an RRAC-leading 82.7 points per game.
        XULA won nine of its last 10 games and 12 of its last 14.
        It was the first time that XULA beat LSUS in four postseason meetings. The Pilots lead the series 16-6.
        Also on the 10-member all-tournament team was reserve guard Jathen Ross, who scored six points over the final two games but made a major impression with his XULA-record 10 made 3-pointers and career-high 30 points against Southwest (N.M.) in the quarterfinals.
        Williams became the first XULA men's basketball head coach to win three tournaments at the conference or NAIA district level. Williams, in his seventh season leading the Gold Rush, broke a five-way-tie with Giles Wright, Bob Hopkins, Denny Alexander and Dale Valdery.

XULA's 12 men's basketball tournament champions/conference and NAIA district

Season	Conference/District	Head Coach	Final Opponent, Score	Date, Location
1937-38	SIAC	Ted Wright	Clark (Ga.), 38-22	Feb. 26, 1938 (Sat.) at Tuskegee, Ala.
1938-39	SIAC	Giles Wright	Alabama State, 41-18	March 4, 1939 (Sat.) at Tuskegee, Ala.
1940-41	SIAC	Giles Wright	Tuskegee, 34-27	March 1, 1941 (Sat.) at Tuskegee, Ala.
1971-72	NAIA District 30	Bob Hopkins	Nicholls, 85-83	March 1, 1972 (Wed.) at Alexandria, La.
1972-73	NAIA District 30	Bob Hopkins	Dillard, 101-80	March 6, 1973 (Tue.) at Baton Rouge, La./LSU
1980-81	NAIA District 30	Denny Alexander	Belhaven, 73-70	March 4, 1981 (Wed.) at New Orleans, La./The Barn
1981-82	NAIA District 30	Denny Alexander	Rust, 87-81	March 3, 1982 (Wed.) at New Orleans, La./The Barn
1990-91	NAIA District 30/GCAC	Dale Valdery	Louisiana Christian (1), 75-71	March 6, 1991 (Wed.) at Pineville, La.
1995-96	GCAC	Dale Valdery	SUNO, 81-66	March 2, 1996 (Sat.) at Mobile, Ala.
2019-20	GCAC	Alfred Williams	Tougaloo, 78-75	March 8, 2020 (Sun.) at New Orleans, La./Convocation Center
2020-21	GCAC	Alfred Williams	Talladega, 70-60	Feb. 28, 2021 (Sun.) at Jacksonville, Fla.
2022-23	RRAC	Alfred Williams	LSU-Shreveport, 79-63	Feb. 26, 2023 (Sun.) at Alexandria, La.
(1) Louisiana Christian was known as Louisiana College prior to November 2021