National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Xavier 84, Seton Hall 76
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 23, 2016
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials: # Jeffrey Anderson, # Jeff Clark, # Alfred Smith
Attendance: 10368

CINCINNATI -- The past two years, Xavier forward James Farr was relegated to role player status. But the 6-foot-10 senior has become a force this season.

"My time here is ticking down," Farr said. "I want to go out the right way."

On Saturday, with the fifth-ranked Musketeers coming off a loss to Georgetown, Farr scored a career-high 24 points and had 15 rebounds and a career-best four assists, lifting Xavier to an 84-76 victory over Seton Hall at Cintas Center.

It was the fourth double-double this season for Farr and the sixth of his career.

"He didn't really play much for two years," Xavier coach Chris Mack said of Farr. "Sometimes when you go through the fire and everything doesn't go your way real easily, you want it more. You just carry a chip on your shoulder."

Xavier (17-2, 5-2 Big East) was outrebounded for the first time this season by Georgetown but turned the tables on Saturday, outrebounding Seton Hall 46-42, including 22-16 in the second half.

"That was a big focus," Farr said. "If we rebound, we can run in transition and have fun. That's how we play."

Sophomore guard Trevon Bluiett overcame early foul trouble to score all 15 of his points in the second half, including three 3-pointers.

"He's a big-time player," Mack said. "He responded in a big way in the second half when our team needed it."

Sophomore forward Sean O'Mara added nine points, one shy of a career high, helping the Musketeers score 42 points in the paint, despite a subpar outing by starting forward Jalen Reynolds, who had six points in 20 minutes.

Saturday's loss concluded a brutal stretch for Seton Hall (13-6, 3-4), which faced No. 12 Providence, No. 4 Villanova, and No. 5 Xavier in a seven-day span.

Seton Hall beat Providence but lost to Villanova and Xavier by a combined nine points.

"It's been a tough stretch," Pirates coach Kevin Willard said. "I like the way we battled. Xavier playing on Tuesday and us playing on Wednesday, it's tough. We didn't get back to campus until 1 a.m. (Thursday) then left early to come here because of the snow. We have to do a better job of batting through that."

Seton Hall lost despite a career day from forward Desi Rodriguez, who scored 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor.

Guard Khadeen Carrington added 19 points and guard Isaiah Whitehead had 17 for Seton Hall after each scored only five points in the first half.

Early foul trouble plagued both teams.

Reynolds picked up his second foul with 16:21 remaining in the first half. Pirates forward Angel Delgado, the team’s top rebounder, was whistled for his second a minute later. He fouled out after 20 minutes.

Farr scored 10 points in the first half to go with eight rebounds. O'Mara came off the bench and in four minutes had four points including a dunk, two rebounds and two blocked shots.

Xavier was dominated on the boards early, with Seton Hall getting 11 second-chance points in the first half. But that changed after halftime.

"We're a decent rebounding team," Willard said. "We did a decent job on the offensive rebounding. But Farr hurt us a little bit."

Xavier scored five points, including freshman guard Edmond Sumner's dunk in the first 49 seconds of the second half, to go ahead 45-36.

Sumner finished with 13 points, including two acrobatic jams.

The Pirates got within 50-49 on Rodriguez's three-point play with 15:57 left. But Xavier responded with a 21-9 run to take control.

Bluiett's layup put the Musketeers ahead 64-54 with 11:11 left, prompting a Seton Hall timeout, but it was to no avail.

After the loss to Georgetown, Mack said his team would ultimately be judged on how they respond. Mack liked what he saw Saturday.

"Nobody likes to lose," he said. "We've always been a good practice team. But we had a lot of energy this week. Our guys played like their hair was on fire."

NOTES: Xavier avoided losing two straight at Cintas Center, which hasn't happened since the 2011-12 season. ... The Musketeers had the same starting lineup for the first 13 games this season. Saturday's game marked the first time that the original starting five was used since Sumner injured himself on Dec. 31 at Villanova. ... Seton Hall leads the series 7-5, including a 3-2 mark with both teams members of the Big East. ... The Pirates faced their third consecutive ranked conference opponent in the last week. ... Xavier F James Farr's seven field goals tied a career high.
Top Game Performances
 
Seton Hall   Xavier
Desi Rodriguez 21 Scoring James Farr 24
Isaiah Whitehead 5 Assists Myles Davis 5
Desi Rodriguez 8 Rebounds James Farr 15
Isaiah Whitehead 3 Free Throws Made James Farr 10
Ismael Sanogo 2 Steals J.P. Macura 3
Isaiah Whitehead 3 Blocks James Farr 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Seton Hall 76 42.3 6-27 10-19 15 39 4 5 13
Xavier 84 45.5 6-20 18-22 21 39 7 11 12