ALEXANDRIA, LA – The two-seed Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team advanced to the Red River Athletic Conference Championship final with a 77-73 win over three-seed Xavier University of Louisiana.
 
EJ McQuillan led the Generals (23-7) with 26 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line. Jordan Decuir recorded 20 points. The pair combined for nearly 60-percent of LSUA's offense.
 
Bentravion Phillips recorded a team-high 28 points, while Seviuhn Turner and Nasir DeGruy each totaled 12.
 
Despite a closely contested game, the Generals led for 36:30 or 91.3-percent of the game. LSUA's largest lead came five minutes into the second half, an 11-point advantage.
 
After Xavier scored the game's opening basket, the Generals scored five unanswered points to flip the score line in their favor. Throughout the first the Generals held a slim lead with the Gold Rush only tying the game once at 10-10.
 
The Generals' largest lead of the first came on a dunk from McQuillan with 6:42 on the clock, 25-18. A 6-0 run from Xavier cut the differential to 25-23 before a PD McCraney layup ended the Generals' scoreless streak after just over four minutes.
 
Late free throws from McQuillan and Jayce Tolivar preserved the LSUA lead heading into halftime, 31-29.
 
The Generals extended their advantage to double digits over the first five minutes of the second half, out scoring Xavier 13-4 in the period.
 
Xavier chipped away, pulling with three with 8:42 left in regulation. With 3:18 left in regulation a layup from Phillips brought the Gold Rush within two, 64-62. A Free throw from McQuillan was answered with a layup from Wayne Randall-Bashay, making it a one-point game with 2:30 left to play.
 
Two free throws from Decuir and a three from McQuillan put the Generals ahead 70-64 with 1:35 to play.
 
In the final 30 seconds, a three from Phillips and layup from DeGruy brought XULA within two. McQuillan was sent to the line and converted both his shots to seal the victory.
 
LSUA takes on LSU Shreveport in the RRAC Championship Final at 4:00 PM tomorrow, March 1, at the Laborde Earles Coliseum.