3-PEAT: Bleu Devils Win 2018 GCAC Tournament Title

Dillard (20-9) is the first Gulf Coast Athletic Conference team to three-peat since LSU-Shreveport won five in a row (2006-10).

NEW ORLEANS (The Advocate) - Dillard senior guard Quinton Jackson was at it again, getting the Bleu Devils off to a fast start in another game in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament.

Jackson scored 17 of his 24 points in leading No. 1 seed Dillard to a big halftime lead on the way to an 86-71 victory against No. 2 Xavier in the championship game Sunday at Xavier.

"There are a lot of good players on our team," said Jackson, the tournament's MVP and who scored 18 of his career-high 26 in the first half of Dillard's semifinals win against Talladega on Saturday. "We're playing really well together now, and I just wanted to be aggressive from the start."

It was the third consecutive GCAC tournament title for the Bleu Devils (20-9), who earned an automatic berth to the NAIA tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The bracket will be announced Wednesday, and the first round begins March 14.

Dillard, ranked No. 20 in the NAIA, became the first to win three GCAC tournament titles since LSU-Shreveport won its fifth in a row in 2010. And, for the first time, both its men's and women's teams won the tourney championship.

With Jackson leading the way with 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 on 3-point attempts, Dillard led 38-23 by shooting 50 percent (12-of-24).

The Gold Rush (24-8), who won just 10 games last season in Coach Alfred Williams' first season, closed to 40-29 at 17:50 of the second half. However, Devils center Joshua Simmons scored six points in a 10-0 run, returning control to Dillard, 51-29, at 15:38.

Williams said the first half deficit was difficult to overcome.

"We played hard, but we couldn't make shots (8-of-20, 0-of-4 on 3s in the first half)," he said. "I think playing three games on three consecutive days probably got to our legs."

Dillard held comfortable leads the rest of the way, including 70-50 with 4:10left.

Kristopher Allmon shot 13-of-14 on free throws in the second half, many coming with Xavier fouling near the end in an effort to have a chance, led Dillard with 27 points. Allmon, a senior chemistry major who prepped at Baton Rouge Redemptorist High School, has been accepted to Xavier's pharmacy school, which he will attend next fall.

Along with Jackson, teammate Simmons, Xavier's Jalen David and Virgil Davison and Philander Smith forward Christopher Journet were selected to the all-tournament team.