Gold Rush will play Nov. 15-16 in HBCU Tip-Off Tournament

NEW ORLEANS — Longtime NAIA men’s basketball power Xavier University of Louisiana will join three NCAA Division II members — Clark Atlanta, Johnson C. Smith and Virginia Union — for the Boost Mobile HBCU Tip-Off Nov. 15-16 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The Gold Rush will play Johnson C. Smith in the second of two games Nov. 15 at the 10,000-seat facility. The following day will be third-place and championship games.

Game times have not been determined.

Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul — a nine-time All-NBA point guard who played his first six seasons with the New Orleans Hornets — is the tournament host. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and MGM are major sponsors.

“We are excited and flattered to be invited to join three NCAA Division II teams for the HBCU Tip-Off,” XULA head coach Alfred Williams said. “We won an overtime thriller at Clark Atlanta in 2019, so we know how good that program is. We’ve never played Virginia Union or Johnson C. Smith. Our goal is to represent Xavier and the NAIA well.”

XULA this past season was 23-7 overall and 11-4 in its first season in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Gold Rush won in the first round of NAIA nationals for the second consecutive year. XULA qualified for nationals each of the past three seasons and 14 times in its last 18 attempts.