Isaiah Whitehead (foot stress fracture) returned from a nine-game absence to contribute 19 points off the bench for Seton Hall (15-6, 5-4 Big East), which hit a season-scoring high in snapping a two-game home losing streak. Fellow freshman Desi Rodriguez added a career-high 16 points off the bench while Brandon Mobley had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pirates, who went 25-of-35 at the free-throw line, including 19-of-26 in the second half.

Reserves Trevon Bluiett and Jalen Reynolds scored 19 and 17 points, respectively, to pace Xavier (14-8, 5-5), which fell to 1-5 in Big East road games. Reynolds added eight rebounds while Myles Davis had 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Musketeers, who shot 51.7 percent from the field but finished 1-of-19 from 3-point range.

Seton Hall led 62-55 with 11:24 to play, but Xavier scored the next seven points and held a 75-73 edge with 4:20 left. The Pirates, though, answered with a 9-0 run of their own – with seven of those points coming at the free-throw line – to jump back in front at 82-75 with 2:38 to play and the Musketeers could get no closer than four thereafter.

Seton Hall was hot early and jumped out to a 20-10 lead, but Xavier answered with a 17-1 run to take a 27-21 lead with 6:15 remaining in the opening half. The Musketeers held a 31-24 advantage before the Pirates closed the half with a 14-6 run to take a 38-37 edge into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Seton Hall is 5-0 versus Xavier at home and leads the overall series 7-4. … The game featured 50 total fouls, including three sets of double-technicals. … Whitehead played for the first time since Dec. 21 and scored in double figures for the seventh time in his last nine games.