STAFFORD, Texas — Jathen Ross led a second-half spurt Monday that sparked Xavier University of Louisiana to a 57-44 Red River Athletic Conference basketball victory against North American.
        It was the only RRAC men's game Monday. The Gold Rush — 11-3 overall, 7-2 RRAC and ranked 21st in the NAIA — took sole possession of first place in the conference. XULA leads LSU-Shreveport and LSU-Alexandria, both 6-2 in the RRAC, by a half-game.
        XULA will visit NAIA No. 4 LSUS at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
        Ross made two 3-pointers during a three-minute 16-2 run that gave the Gold Rush a 52-35 lead with 5:07 remaining.
        XULA trailed 6-0 after 79 seconds but led for all but 21 seconds in the final 29 minutes. The Gold Rush led by double digits for the final 6:07.
        Jeremy Lindsey and Lance Williams scored 12 points apiece for XULA, and Ross scored 11. Williams produced a season-high-tying six assists, Lindsey had four assists and four steals, and Cory Wells grabbed eight rebounds.
        Jalon Clark and Jamarric Hammond scored nine points apiece for North American (6-9, 5-4). Clark entered No. 3 in the RRAC with 17.1 points per game. Hammond entered with an RRAC-best 50 percent on 3-pointers but against XULA was 1-of-4 behind the arc.
        The Gold Rush outshot the Stallions 45.5 to 34.8 percent from the floor and was plus-9 in turnovers, committing 14 and gaining a season-high 23. But XULA struggled with free throws, attempting none in the first half and making 1-of-9 in the second.

Red River Athletic Conference standings through Jan. 15, 2024
7-2 XULA
6-2 LSU-Shreveport
6-2 LSU-Alexandria
7-3 Texas College
5-4 North American
5-5 Jarvis Christian
4-5 Our Lady of the Lake
4-5 Southwest (N.M.)
3-5 Texas A&M-Texarkana
3-6 Paul Quinn
2-7 Huston-Tillotson
1-7 Louisiana Christian