DeRousselle banks in a winner for the Gold Rush
February 9, 2009

Box score

     NEW ORLEANS — Ryan DeRousselle banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer Monday to give Xavier University of Louisiana a 54-52 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Belhaven.
     DeRousselle scored from 25 feet after Nathaniel Roché scored with 2.9 seconds remaining to give Belhaven a 52-51 advantage. There were four lead changes in the final minute.
     Shaun Dumas scored 15 points for Xavier (16-8 overall, 8-4 GCAC) and passed to DeRousselle for the winning points. Kelechi Okoroha added 14 points for the Gold Rush and had a season-high five assists.
     Roché, Belhaven's only double-figure scorer, scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half.
     Xavier led 10-0 through six minutes before the Blazers rallied for a 23-21 advantage at halftime.
     Belhaven outshot Xavier 45 to 39 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Gold Rush 31-22. But Xavier committed 13 turnovers and gained 22.
     Xavier swept both regular-season meetings against Belhaven and leads the series 42-10, including 27 victories in 28 meetings at The Barn.
     The Rush remained one game off the lead in the conference but moved into a tie for second place with Loyola and LSU-Shreveport. Loyola, which began the day tied for first with Tougaloo, lost 62-58 at Spring Hill. Tougaloo won 69-50 at William Carey to improve to 9-3 in the conference, and LSUS won 84-66 at Dillard.