Okoroha, Gold Rush start quickly, win at Mobile
E. Cassiere 02/21/09

MOBILE, Ala. -- Kelechi Okoroha scored 20 points Saturday and keyed a fast start by Xavier University of Louisiana in a 69-60 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Mobile.

The victory was the fifth in six games for the Gold Rush (19-9 overall, 11-5 GCAC), who took sole possession of second place in the conference when LSU-Shreveport lost 83-80 at Spring Hill.

Okoroha scored six points and assisted on two Shaun Dumas 3-pointers as Xavier built a 12-0 lead in the first six minutes. The Rush led 38-24 at halftime, and Mobile never got closer than four points in the second half.

Dumas scored 13 points and had six assists, and teammate Olumide Olafioye scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Okoroha grabbed nine rebounds.Donte Walker and Matthew Turner scored 12 points apiece for Mobile (14-13, 6-10), and Brock Dockery scored 10.

Xavier shot 50 percent from the floor and committed six turnovers to tie a season low. The Rush was 6-of-10 from 3-point range -- Dumas was 3-of-4 -- in a revival of Xavier's perimeter shooting. The Rush had gone 4-of-24 from 3-point range in the previous three games.

Tougaloo clinched the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament -- and one of the GCAC's two automatic bids to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship -- with a 68-41 home victory against Dillard. 

Tougaloo has a two-game lead on Xavier with two games remaining and owns the tiebreaker over the Rush, a 2-0 record in head-to-head matchups this season.Xavier's next game will start at 7:30 p.m. 

Thursday against Spring Hill at The Barn. The Rush will honor Dumas and Okoroha during a pregame Senior Night ceremony.