Gold Rush in 3-way tie for first after win at Belhaven
For immediate release . . . February 17, 2007
Box Score

JACKSON, Miss. — Mark Stewart scored 22 points Saturday to lead NAIA No. 22 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 75-59 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against Belhaven.

The Gold Rush (18-8, 11-5 GCAC) moved into a first-place for the conference lead with LSU-Shreveport and Tougaloo. Each school has two conference games remaining.

Alfred Williams and Kelechi Okoroha each scored 14 points for Xavier, and Shaun Dumas scored 13. Williams grabbed 10 rebounds in his third double-double of the season.

Stewart scored 20 points for the ninth time this season.

Xavier led 31-28 at halftime, then pulled away by outscoring the Blazers 14-2 in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second half.

Larell Bailey scored 18 points and Bobby Johnson 15 for Belhaven (13-14, 6-10), and Justin Hansberry and Dax Miller scored 10 points each. The Blazers lost for the sixth time in seven games.

The Rush outshot the Blazers 43 to 40 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 38-26. Xavier made a season-high 29 free throws in 35 attempts and defeated Belhaven for the 17th time in their last 20 meetings.

Xavier's next game will start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Hattiesburg, Miss., against GCAC opponent William Carey.

Here's how the race for the GCAC men's championship stands with two conference games remaining for each of the top four teams:

                          Remaining Games
Team               W  L   Thursday               Saturday
Xavier            11  5   at William Carey       at Dillard (Dent Hall)
LSU-Shreveport    11  5   at Tougaloo            SUNO, home
Tougaloo          11  5   LSU-Shreveport, home   Belhaven, home
William Carey     10  6   Xavier, home           Loyola, home