|
|
| Athletics Home |
| News Archive |
| Composite Schedule |
| Basketball Home Games |
| Men's Basketball |
| Men's Cross Country |
| Men's Tennis |
| Women's Basketball |
| Women's Cross Country |
| Women's Tennis |
| Recreational Sports |
| Cheerleading |
| Gold Star Dance Team |
| Golden Girls Pom Squad |
ALMA MATER
In the Mississippi Valley,
In the Crescent Bend
Stands our loved and noble Xavier,
Far her praises send.
Refrain:
Wave her colors bear them onward
Gold and white so true
Hail to thee, all hail, dear Xavier
Hail, all hail, X.U.!
Xavier, ever be our guide
And lead us on the way,
Through life's journey, onward, upward
To the eternal day. (Refrain)
|
| |
|
|
Gold Rush gains ground in NAIA coaches poll
February 23, 2009
NEW ORLEANS — Dannton Jackson says it's
gratifying that his Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball team
is gaining support in the NAIA Division I coaches poll this late in the season.
The Gold Rush, which received just one point in five of the previous six polls,
received 29 points in balloting announced Monday and jumped near the front of
the group of "others receiving votes" — a place Xavier has been hanging
out all season.
Xavier was 20 points from the top 25 and tied for
28th place with Biola. The previous week Xavier was tied for 37th place.
But, Jackson cautions, it's just a snapshot in time.
Two more regular-season games remain, then the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
Tournament. The road to Kansas City, Mo., and the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division
I National Championship is still long — and still bumpy.
"It's good to be where we are," said Jackson, whose
team is 19-9 and, thanks to a three-game winning streak, in sole possession
of second place in the GCAC at 11-5. "But we have much more we can accomplish.
It starts Thursday night at The Barn against Spring Hill, and that's where
all our focus must be — on the next game."
It'll be Senior Night on Thursday — the Gold
|
|
|
2008-09 GCAC Men's Basketball Standings
|
|
|
GCAC Games
|
All Games
|
|
|
W
|
L
|
Pct
|
W
|
L
|
Pct
|
|
x-Tougaloo
|
13
|
3
|
.813
|
20
|
8
|
.714
|
|
Xavier
|
11
|
5
|
.688
|
19
|
9
|
.679
|
|
Loyola
|
10
|
6
|
.625
|
17
|
10
|
.630
|
|
LSU-Shreveport
|
10
|
6
|
.625
|
17
|
11
|
.607
|
|
Spring Hill
|
9
|
7
|
.563
|
15
|
10
|
.600
|
|
Belhaven
|
8
|
8
|
.500
|
16
|
11
|
.593
|
|
Dillard
|
7
|
9
|
.438
|
10
|
16
|
.385
|
|
Mobile
|
6
|
10
|
.375
|
14
|
13
|
.519
|
|
William Carey
|
3
|
13
|
.188
|
8
|
18
|
.308
|
|
SUNO
|
3
|
13
|
.188
|
3
|
22
|
.120
|
x — clinched No. 1 seed for the GCAC Tournament and the first of two GCAC automatic
bids to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship at Kansas City, Mo.
|
Thursday's Games
Spring Hill at Xavier, 7:30 p.m.
SUNO at Loyola, 7:30 p.m.
Dillard at William Carey, 7:30 p.m.
LSU-Shreveport at Belhaven, 7:30 p.m.
Mobile at Tougaloo, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Xavier at Dillard (UNO Lakefront Arena), 7 p.m.
SUNO at LSU-Shreveport, 7 p.m.
William Carey at Loyola, 7 p.m.
Spring Hill at Mobile, 7 p.m.
Belhaven at Tougaloo, 7 p.m.
END OF REGULAR SEASON
|
|
|
Rush and Badgers will tip off at 7:30 — and guard Shaun Dumas and
forward Kelechi Okoroha, who have combined for nearly 2,400
career points, will be honored in a pregame ceremony. But Jackson hopes that distraction
doesn't linger, and the desire to stop a hot Spring Hill team does.
"Spring Hill has great guards, and they handled us
pretty well last time," Jackson said. "Outside of Tougaloo, there isn't a
team in the conference that's been playing better than Spring Hill has lately."
The Badgers, although in fifth place in the GCAC and
two games behind Xavier, have won seven of their past eight. They started
that run with a 65-54 thumping of the Rush on Jan. 31 at Spring Hill. Guard
Jeremy Price scored a season-high 29 points for the Badgers, including a career-high
six 3-pointers.
"We can't use our tradition or our resumé to win games,"
said Jackson, who seeks a school-record fifth consecutive NAIA tournament berth
and his sixth 20-win season in as many years as the Gold Rush's head coach.
"We have to focus on every possession, play intelligently and be willing to
outwork opponents on defense and rebounding. It's a straightforward plan,
but what separates good teams from others is the ability to consistently
execute that plan."
Defense has been a big part of Xavier's success
this season. The Rush allows 61 points per game to rank fifth in NAIA Division
I, and Xavier is 8-0 in conference when allowing less than 60 points.
Dumas, meanwhile, has become a much busier shooter
after three seasons as a distributor to scorers such as Timothy Green, Jason
Leonard, Mark Stewart and Alfred Williams. Dumas' 14.7 scoring average this
season is the highest of his career, and he'll enter Thursday's game with a
career-best streak of 10 straight games scoring in double figures — and
a 17.8 average during that time. Dumas also ranks second in the nation with
3.3 steals per game, and he's in position to become the third Gold Rush
player in 27 seasons to lead the team in scoring, assists and steals in the same season.
"We can't ask for much more than we have out of Shaun,"
Jackson said. "There are others in our league who may have better stats, but I
can't think of a better choice than Shaun for conference player of the year."
Okoroha, who needs 16 points to reach 1,000 for his
three-year career, averaged 15.8 points the past 10 games to raise his season
average to a career-best 11.4.
Dumas and Okoroha are the only Xavier players with
double-figure scoring averages, but they didn't bring the Rush to the brink
of 20 wins by themselves. Seven of the other 10 active players are averaging
from 3.3 to 8.1 points. Newcomers Landon Bussie and Cordell Hadnot have
combined to average 7.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in the absence of center
Dannie Woods, who's injured and out for the season. Ryan DeRousselle
banked in a 25-footer at the buzzer to beat Belhaven at The Barn on Feb.
9. Five days later, Olumide Olafioye scored 21 points to share scoring
honors with Dumas and Okoroha and lead a successful second-half home
comeback against SUNO. Freshman Jamaan Kenner scored a career-high seven
points in each of the past two games, road victories against William Carey and Mobile.
The GCAC receives two automatic berths to the NAIA
tournament, and Tougaloo secured the first by beating Dillard on Saturday to
clinch the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. The other automatic berth
will go to the GCAC Tournament champion — or to the runner-up if
Tougaloo wins the tourney. Xavier, an 80-76 loser to LSU-Shreveport in last
year's GCAC final, earned the conference's second automatic berth in 2008.
This season of NAIA Division I men's basketball has
been full of plot twists. Six teams have been No. 1, and six more reached
the top 25 for the first time in at least nine seasons. California Baptist,
which beat Xavier 77-69 in the opening round at Kansas City in 2008, earned
just one point in this week's poll after being a preseason No. 5 and climbing
to the No. 1 in December.
Xavier, winner of five of its past six and 14-1 at
home this season, hopes its recent momentum will keep it from twisting in the
wind when the 32-team field for the national tournament is announced March 11.
Xavier will close the regular season Saturday with a
7 p.m. game against GCAC, city and HBCU rival Dillard in the Bleu Devil Classic
at the University of New Orleans' Lakefront Arena. Xavier has won seven straight
and 10 of 11 against the Dillard.
The Rush has a clinched a first-round bye and a home
quarterfinal game in the GCAC Tournament. That game will tip off at 7 p.m.
March 5 against a still-to-be-determined opponent.
"We just have to keep winning," Jackson said. "Keep
finding ways to win. We have to handle this one game at a time. We control
our destiny."
|
|
|
