ST. LOUIS -- Although 15th-seeded Weber State rallied to make things interesting for most of the second half, 2nd-seeded Xavier remained in control throughout its first round game in the NCAA Tournament's East Region.

An 8-0 run late in the half finally ended the Wildcats' hopes of the day's second 15-2 upset at Scottrade Center, the Musketeers wrapping up a 71-53 decision to set up a second round contest Sunday night with Wisconsin.

Backup forward James Farr dominated inside with game-high totals of 18 points and 15 rebounds for Xavier (28-5), while forward Jalen Reynolds added 12 points. Guards Remy Abell and Trevon Bluiett contributed 11 and 10, respectively.

"They are big, strong boys," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said of Farr and Reynolds. "Our group battled, but they are who I thought they would be. We were right there in the second half. We didn't back away."

Center Joel Bolomboy paced Weber State (26-9), which won the Big Sky Conference Tournament, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Guard McKay Cannon scored 10 points.

The Musketeers never trailed, leading by as many as 15 points before the first half's midway point before settling for a 34-23 halftime lead when backup guard J.P. Macura drilled a long 3-pointer as time expired.

With Cannon leading a balanced second half attack, the Wildcats drew within 56-49 at the 8:04 mark when Kyndahl Hill canned a jumper. But Xavier finally put them away, establishing a 64-49 advantage when Macura beat the shot clock with a short jumper at the 4:15 mark.

The Musketeers sank 48.4 percent of their field goal tries and owned a 43-27 rebounding advantage.

"We played great defense tonight," Macura said. "We have a lot of players that can make plays."

NOTES: Weber State C Joel Bolomboy is one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. ... Xavier is one of only nine Division I schools appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. ... The Wildcats' 26 victories represents their 27th 20-win season in 54 Division I campaigns, as well as a 13-win improvement over last season. ... The Musketeers' 2nd seed is their highest in program history. They were a third seed in the 2003 and 2008 tournaments.