The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) men’s basketball team earned a much-needed Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) game on Saturday night as they took down Xavier University of Louisiana by a score of 64-59. The win moves the Saints to 14-4 overall and 10-4 in RRAC play.
Matthew Gonzalez opened the scoring for the Saints, knocking down a triple on OLLU’s first possession of the game. Gonzalez, who saw his first start of the season today, took advantage of the opportunity as the sophomore played 32 minutes and scored nine points with all nine coming from three-pointers.
Kenyon Elliot also provided productive minutes in his second start of the season as the junior scored seven points and dished out a game-high seven assists.
The Saints turned defense into offense early on as Wahkil Lopez denied an XULA layup attempt and the Saints got out in transition. Lonzo Rand found Breion Powell who spotted up for a triple and knocked it down, giving OLLU 14-5 lead and forcing XULA to call its first timeout of the contest. OLLU continued to maintain its lead despite the Gold Nuggets doing enough to stay within striking distance. With 6:49 to play, the Saints picked up some momentum and attempted to distance themselves from the Gold Nuggets. OLLU extended their lead to as many as eight points over those final six minutes, but XULA managed to keep themselves in the game. After 20 minutes of play, OLLU led 33-28.
OLLU shot 50 percent from the floor and from long distance in the opening half while holding XULA to just 32 percent from the floor.
Breion Powell nearly had a double-double in the first half with 10 points and eight rebounds.
XULA scored the first five points of the half to tie the game at 33 apiece. The Saints netted the next five points, capped off by an and-one from Powell. The Saints would once again build their lead to eight points but just as they did in the first half, the Gold Nuggets had answers and kept OLLU from building upon their lead. With just over five minutes to go in the game and the Saints leading by eight, XULA went on a short 5-0 run to make it a one possession game.
With 70 seconds on the clock, a pair of XULA free throws made it a one-point game, but when the Saints needed a bucket, they turned offense into defense once again. A Lonzo Rand steal turned into a Kenyon Elliot layup with 23 seconds to go, giving OLLU a three point lead. Lopez put his stamp on the game with a thunderous two-handed dunk off the assist from Powell with three seconds left.
Powell reached the double-double, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds, both of which were game-highs. Arthur Celestin pulled down 10 rebounds while Lopez finished with five points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
OLLU will hit the road next week for a pair of RRAC contest starting Thursday, January 16 at Jarvis Christian University.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the OLLU Saints, fans can visit ollusaintsathletics.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Saints news by following on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
