Gold Rush win at Tougaloo, reach 20 wins for 30th time

TOUGALOO, Mississippi -- Morris Wright, one of five double-figure scorers for Xavier University of Louisiana, had 15 points and five assists Monday to lead the Gold Rush in a 75-64 men's basketball victory against Tougaloo.

The Gold Rush (20-8, 9-3 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) led wire-to-wire and outscored the Bulldogs 8-0 in the final 4:29.

Anthony Goode scored 14 points for Xavier. Sydney Coleman had 12 points, and RJ Daniels and Jacques Johnson scored 10 apiece. Daniels, in his first start since Nov. 6, grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season and his first since Nov. 14.

Tougaloo (9-9, 6-3) had four double-figure scorers. Marshun McGee and Trevis Thomas had 14 points apiece, Kelsey Howard scored 13, and Andravious Smith had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Xavier replaced Tougaloo as the GCAC's second-place team.

Xavier led 44-39 at halftime after shooting 65.4 percent from the floor and making five of its first six 3-pointers. For the game, Xavier shot a season-high 60.4 percent from the floor.

The Gold Rush reached 20 victories for the fifth consecutive season and the 30th time overall -- still the Louisiana men's collegiate record. Second on the list is Louisiana-Lafayette with 23 20-win seasons.

Dannton Jackson reached 20 victories for the 10th time in his 12 seasons as Xavier's head coach. Jackson tied LSU's Dale Brown for the second-most 20-win seasons by a coach in Louisiana men's collegiate history. Grambling's Fred Hobdy holds the men's state record of 14 20-win seasons.

The Gold Rush limited Tougaloo to 38.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bulldogs 30-23.

Xavier completed a two-game regular-season sweep of Tougaloo. The Gold Rush have won three straight at the Bulldogs' Kroger Gym since a six-game losing streak from 2006-12.

Xavier's next game will start at 7:30 p.m. Monday at SUNO. The next Gold Rush home game will start at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 against Dillard in the Crosstown Classic at XU's Convocation Center.

Box score

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director 
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