Gold Rush beat Carver before date with No. 10 William Carey

Rayshawn Mart scored a career-high 22 points Thursday to lead NAIA No. 23 Xavier University of Louisiana to a 79-62 men’s basketball victory against Carver.

The Gold Rush (3-0) won for the 23rd consecutive time in a home opener. Attendance was 1,204, XULA’s most for a home opener since the 2012 debut of the Convocation Center.

Mart, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year last season, was 9-of-14 from the floor and tied a career high by making 3-of-4 3-pointers. He had five steals to match a career high, and he grabbed seven rebounds.

Ed Carter was 7-of-9 from the floor and scored a season-high 16 points for XULA, Ahmed Coulibaly scored 10, and William Loyd had eight points and nine rebounds. Coulibaly made a pair of 3-pointers and is 6-of-6 from long range in the last two games.

Coulibaly and Donovan Armstrong had three steals apiece.

Rayford Washington scored 14 points, Antonio Gardner 12 and Tyler Thornton 11 for the Cougars (0-2), a National Christian College Athletic Association member from Atlanta. Carver is 0-11 all-time against XULA.

XULA will play host to NAIA No. 10 William Carey at 7 p.m. Monday.