The Gold Rush of Xavier at Louisiana (XULA) made it to the second round of the NAIA tournament in style defeating Hope International 95-57.

This is the third year in a row XULA has advanced past the first round in the tournament. The Gold Rush’s 38-point margin of victory was the most lopsided first-round matchup to date

Men's basketball wins in the first round of #NAIA nationals for the third consecutive season.
stats: https://t.co/Ni4KwJdiHH#TeamGold #HailAllHailXU #NAIAMBB #HBCU #XULA #BattleForTheRedBanner @labball pic.twitter.com/IeJir7bEuf

— XULA Athletics (@xulagold) March 8, 2023

Jathen Ross paced the Gold Rush with a game-high 18 points connecting four three-pointers.

Meanwhile, Xavier Reaves fell short of a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds and Lance Williams posted 10 points and three steals.

The Gold Rush got off to a hot start going on an 18-0 run to begin the game. From there, Xavier coasted to victory outscoring Hope International 54-29 in the first half.

Xavier will face the winner of the first-round matchup between the College of Idaho and Westcliff (Calif.) in the second round.