SHREVEPORT, La. - If ever there was a doubt that the Xavier men's basketball team has the mettle and skill to give any team in the country all it can handle and more, the evidence was on full display Saturday as the Gold Rush registered their biggest win of the season, an 88-84 win over No. 13 LSU-Shreveport. 

XULA (17-9, 13-7 RRAC) was just two days removed from a heart-wrenching 1-point loss to Texas A&M Texarkana and was still without low-post powerhouse Jamal Gibson, but the men in black and gold showed immense resiliency. 

The Gold Rush shot 51.7 percent from the field, and every shot was critical as LSU-S (21-5, 18-2 RRAC) was shooting 48.3 percent.

Bentravin Phillips, normally Xavier's starting point guard, played in reserve Saturday and scored a game-high 26 points to go along with 5 rebounds and a team-high 7 assists. 

Nasir DeGruy, typically the starting shooting guard, also played in reserve; he scored 15 points. 

Seviuhn Turner was good for 12 points, his third game in four to reach double-figures. 

The unsung heroes of the game were Kaleb Huggins, Mason Guillory, Torin Bell, and Jylan Howze, the quartet of players tasked with filling in for Gibson. 

Huggins was a model of efficiency, shooting 3-for-4 from the field, scoring 7 points, and grabbing 4 rebounds. Guillory scored 12 points and grabbed 2 rebounds, Bell was good for 5 points, 2 rebounds, and a block, and Howze logged 6 points, 7 rebounds, and a block. 

Xavier returns home next week for the final two games of its regular season. The first of those games is Thursday night at 7:30 against Texas College.