Gold Rush defeat Knights 78-62 for 10th road win

NEW ORLEANS — Virgil Davison scored 23 points Monday, and Rayshawn Mart had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead NAIA No. 23 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 78-62 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory against city rival SUNO at The Castle.

The victory was XULA’s 10th this season on the road. The Gold Rush won a combined six times on opponents’ courts the previous two seasons.

Davison, who made four 3-pointers, scored his most points since Dec. 22. Mart, a freshman, produced a career high for points and tied his career best for rebounds. The double-double was Mart’s second.

The Gold Rush (19-6, 6-2) led 37-23 at halftime, then pulled away in the final nine minutes after the Knights (3-16, 1-9) got as close as 56-52.

Jalen David scored 14 points for XULA, Joseph Williams had nine points and eight rebounds, and Jeff Dixon had seven assists.

George Brock had 16 points and five assists for SUNO. Teandre Jones scored 15, and Andre Funches scored 10. Brock entered No. 2 in NAIA Division I with 25.6 points per game, but XULA limited him to 5-of-17 from the floor in 37 minutes.

XULA outshot the Knights 51.7 to 36.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 43-32.

XULA will play host to Dillard at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center in the second game of the Crosstown Classic presented by Raising Cane’s. The Gold Rush moved ahead of Dillard in the GCAC standings when Dillard lost 92-79 at Tougaloo. Talladega leads the conference at 7-2, with XULA a half-game behind and Dillard (6-3) in third place.