Stewart's 23 points lead Xavier men past Dillard
January 26, 2008

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS — Mark Stewart scored 23 points Saturday to lead NAIA No. 18 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 69-62 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over crosstown rival Dillard at Dent Hall.

Stewart scored in double figures for the 16th consecutive game and was one point short of his season high. The senior guard made five 3-pointers to increase his Xavier career record to 267.

Kelechi Okoroha had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Gold Rush (16-4 overall, 6-2 GCAC), and Alfred Williams had nine points and nine rebounds. Shaun Dumas had eight points, six assists and four steals.

David Manning scored 17 points and Darnell Williams 15 for Dillard (4-11, 0-8), which has an eight-game losing streak.

Stewart scored eight points during a 16-0 run which erased Dillard's 5-0 lead. Xavier led 33-23 at halftime and twice led by 20 in the second half. The Blue Devils scored 10 points in the final minute.

Xavier outshot Dillard 49 to 36 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Blue Devils 41-29.

The victory was Xavier's third in a row and the Gold Rush's fifth straight against Dillard. Xavier has won 14 consecutive games against its three GCAC opponents from New Orleans: Dillard, Loyola and SUNO.

Xavier's next game will start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Loyola.