SHREVEPORT, La. — NAIA No. 12 LSU-Shreveport rallied in the final 13 minutes Thursday for an 81-72 Red River Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana.
        The Pilots toppled the Gold Rush from first to fourth place in the RRAC — but the top four teams are separated by just half a game. LSUS and LSU-Alexandria are 7-2, followed by Texas College at 8-3 and XULA at 7-3.
        Jeremy Lindsey's basket with 13 minutes remaining gave XULA (11-4 overall) its largest lead, 52-47. LSUS (12-3) outscored the Gold Rush 34-20 from that point, and Tyler Washington led the Pilots during the comeback with nine points.
        James Ellis' 3-point play with 3:25 remaining put LSUS ahead to stay at 69-68. After a XULA miss from the floor, Paul King's 3-pointer on the next possession made it 72-68, and it was a two-possession game thereafter.
        Nine of the 10 starters — all five from XULA — scored in double figures. For the Gold Rush, Cory Wells had 19 points, Lindsey and TJ Jones had 14 apiece, and Lance Williams and J'Quan Ewing scored 10 apiece. Ewing, in his first semester at XULA, grabbed 12 rebounds in his first Gold Rush double-double — and it was the most rebounds in a game by a XULA player this season.
        For LSUS, Washington had 18 points and 10 rebounds, King scored 16 points, Jordan DeCuir had 11, and Ellis scored 10.
        Wells' basket with 3:43 remaining gave XULA its final lead, 68-66.
        All three of XULA's conference losses are to the other top-4 teams — and the Gold Rush led each of those three with less than 10 minutes remaining.
        The Gold Rush will stay on the road and play Texas A&M-Texarkana at 4 p.m. Saturday. TAMUT is 10th in the RRAC at 3-6 after its 70-66 home loss to North American.

Red River Athletic Conference scores of Jan. 18, 2024 (home teams in bold)
LSU-Shreveport 81, XULA 72
LSU-Alexandria 76, Our Lady of the Lake 62
Texas College 79, Southwest (N.M.) 78, OT
Paul Quinn 83, Jarvis Christian 81, OT
North American 70, Texas A&M-Texarkana 66
Huston-Tillotson 81, Louisiana Christian 74

Red River Athletic Conference standings through Jan. 18, 2024
7-2 LSU-Shreveport
7-2 LSU-Alexandria
8-3 Texas College
7-3 XULA
6-4 North American
5-6 Jarvis Christian
5-6 Southwest (N.M.)
4-6 Our Lady of the Lake
4-7 Paul Quinn
3-6 Texas A&M-Texarkana
3-7 Huston-Tillotson
1-8 Louisiana Christian