RRAC Basketball Tournament: Xavier openers set for Friday

Gold Rush will play Southwest (N.M.) early Friday

Third-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana will play sixth-seeded Southwest (N.M.) at 9:45 a.m. CST Friday in the men’s basketball quarterfinals of the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament at Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, La.

Eight of the RRAC’s 11 teams qualified. The champion will receive an automatic bid to NAIA nationals, which will begin March 7 and conclude March 21.

If XULA advances, it would play in the semifinals against second-seeded Texas A&M-Texarkana or seventh-seeded Our Lady of the Lake at 1 p.m. Saturday. The championship game will tip off at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Gold Rush are 19-8 overall and tied for second in the RRAC regular-season standings with TAMUT at 14-6. XULA lost a tiebreaker with TAMUT for the No. 2 seed. The Mustangs are 12-15 overall, 8-12 RRAC and tied for sixth with OLLU and Louisiana Christian.

XULA and Southwest split their two regular-season games. The Mustangs rallied from a 15-point deficit for a 60-57 victory Dec. 3 at Hobbs, N.M., and the Gold Rush won 76-58 Jan. 21 at the Convocation Center.

Gold Rush statistical leaders include Xavier Reaves with 12.9 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game, 30.7 minutes per game and 33 steals, Jathen Ross with 32 made 3-pointers, TJ Jones with 70 assists, 82.1-percent free-throw accuracy, 25 games started and 27 games played, Brian White with 43.9-percent 3-point accuracy, Chris Ward with 58.6-percent field-goal accuracy, and Cory Wells with 19 blocked shots and 27 games played.

XULA seeks its first conference tournament title since repeating as Gulf Coast Athletic Conference champion in 2021. This is XULA’s second season in the RRAC; the Gold Rush defeated Southwest 74-58 in the opening round of the 2022 tournament, then lost 60-59 to Louisiana Christian in the semifinals.

2023 Red River Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament
at Rapides Parish Coliseum, Alexandria, La.
Quarterfinals — Friday, Feb. 24
LSU-Alexandria (No. 4 seed, 18-10) vs. Louisiana Christian (No. 5 seed, 12-16), 8 a.m.
XULA (No. 3 seed, 19-8) vs. Southwest (N.M.) (No. 6 seed, 12-15), 9:45 a.m.
Texas A&M-Texarkana (No. 2 seed, 21-7) vs. Our Lady of the Lake (No. 7 seed, 13-15), 11:30 a.m.
LSU-Shreveport (No. 1 seed, 22-6) vs. Jarvis Christian (No. 8 seed, 8-16), 1:15 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, Feb. 25
XULA-Southwest winner vs. TAMUT-OLLU winner, 1 p.m.
LSUA-Louisiana Christian winner vs. LSUS-Jarvis Christian winner, 3 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, Feb. 26
Semifinal winners meet at 2 p.m.

Gold Nuggets will play Our Lady of the Lake at 3 p.m. CST Friday

Fifth-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana will play fourth-seeded Our Lady of the Lake at 3 p.m. CST Friday in the women’s basketball quarterfinals of the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament at Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, La.

Eight of the RRAC’s 11 teams qualified. The champion will receive an automatic bid to NAIA nationals, which will begin March 7 and conclude March 21.

If XULA advances, it would play in the semifinals against top-seeded Texas A&M-Texarkana or eighth-seeded Jarvis Christian at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The championship game will tip off at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Gold Nuggets are 18-10 overall and tied for fourth with OLLU in the RRAC regular-season standings at 12-8. XULA lost a tiebreaker with OLLU for the No. 4 seed. The Saints are 15-12 overall.

XULA and OLLU split their two regular-season games. The Saints won 60-51 Dec. 15 at San Antonio, Texas, and the Gold Nuggets won 49-40 Feb. 2 at the Convocation Center.

Gold Nuggets statistical leaders include Shylia McGee with 13.2 points per game, 35 made 3-pointers, 26 games played and 25 games started, Nina German with 83.9-percent free-throw accuracy and 31.9 minutes per game, Nia Bishop with 35.2-percent 3-point accuracy, 84 assists and 59 steals, Abryhia Irons with 47.6-percent field-goal accuracy, 6.4 rebounds per game and 26 games played, Ashanti LaVergne with 13 blocked shots, and Rayna Ross with 26 games played.

Irons on Jan. 5 became the fourth Gold Nugget to reach 600 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists in a career.

XULA seeks its first conference tournament title since winning 56-52 in overtime at Edward Waters in the 2021 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference final. This is XULA’s second season in the RRAC; the Gold Nuggets defeated Southwest (N.M.) 58-48 in the opening round of the 2022 tournament, then lost 70-45 to LSU-Shreveport in the semifinals.

2023 Red River Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament
at Rapides Parish Coliseum, Alexandria, La.
Quarterfinals — Friday, Feb. 24
Our Lady of the Lake (No. 4 seed, 15-12) vs. XULA (No. 5 seed, 18-10), 3 p.m.
Louisiana Christian (No. 3 seed, 16-11) vs. LSU-Alexandria (No. 6 seed, 12-15), 4:45 p.m.
LSU-Shreveport (No. 2 seed, 22-6) vs. Huston-Tillotson (No. 7 seed, 13-12), 6:30 p.m.
Texas A&-Texarkana (No. 1 seed, 25-1) vs. Jarvis Christian (No. 8 seed, 9-15), 8:15 p.m.