Pirates Move to 3-0 After Taking Down Xavier, 83-71

Wednesday, January 8

Cincinnati, Ohio

8:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

11-4,3-0Big East

Xavier

12-4,1-2Big East

Seton Hall

Xavier

Pirates Move to 3-0 After Taking Down Xavier, 83-71

1/8/2020 11:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

CINCINNATI - Senior All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, classmate Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) tallied 15 points and eight assists and sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) scored a career-high 16 points as the Seton Hall men's basketball team took down Xavier, 83-71, to move to the 3-0 in the BIG EAST Wednesday night at Cintas Center.

It's Seton Hall's fourth-ever 3-0 start to BIG EAST play and only the second time ever the program has opened the league 2-0 on the road. The Pirates snapped Xavier's 13-game home winning streak.

Powell was 10-for-21 from the field and finished with four assists alongside his nine rebounds. Rhoden's career-high 16 came on 6-of-10 shooting, and McKnight once again was masterful at the point with his 15 points and eight assists.

Junior Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) played fantastic defense on Xavier's leading scorer Naji Marshall, and he was +15 for the night, best on the team. Senior Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) had five blocks to go with 11 points.

Turning Point
Mid-first half, Seton Hall took the lead for good on a 21-5 run that included nine points from Powell and a huge three from McKnight. In that span, Seton Hall clamped down on defense, holding the Musketeers to 2-for-11 shooting and six turnovers for a stretch of nine minutes.

The Pirates went into halftime up eight points and led by as much as 16 points in the second half when freshman Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) drilled a three, and sophomore Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) slammed home a dunk on a Powell lob pass to make it 67-51.

Xavier kept itself in the game with three-pointers, but every time the Musketeers made a run, the Pirates had an answer. A 6-0 run on a pair of Scruggs threes was answered by the Pirates getting to the free throw line. Seton Hall responded to five straight Xavier points with Powell drawing a three-point fou and Rhoden hitting a huge floater with 3:25 remaining.

Then the Musketeers had a 7-0 run thanks to a press that forced a pair of turnovers. With under two to go, the Pirates gave it up again, but Rhoden managed to re-steal a giveaway, he found Powell who lobbed it up to Gill again for a slam to make it a six-point lead. Rhoden picked up another steal, Gill made a pair of free throws and then blocked a shot on the other end, leading to McKnight finishing the Musketeers off with an acrobatic layup.

Road wins in this league are GOLD! 🤑#HALLin pic.twitter.com/v1CVbvivmC
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) January 9, 2020

The Pirates move to 3️⃣-0️⃣ in the @BIGEASTMBB.

We'll see you at The Rock on Saturday 👍#HALLin pic.twitter.com/UXrhlBw6BQ
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) January 9, 2020

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 53.4 percent for the game (31-for-58), 33.3 percent from three (6-for-18) and 78.9 percent at the line (15-for-19). Xavier shot 44.4 percent for the game (24-for-54) and from three (8-for-18) and was 83.3 percent at the charity stripe (15-for-18). Amazingly enough, Xavier had come into the game shooting only 29.7 percent from three and 67.3 percent at the line for the season.
Seton Hall was excellent on the boards, out-rebounding Xavier, 35-25, and limiting the Musketeers to just six offensive rebounds and seven second chance points.
The Pirates finished with 19 assists on their 31 made field goals.
Powell led all scorers with 24 points. He was 10-for-21 from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and issued four assists in another All-America type effort.
McKnight was 4-for-10 from the field, 3-for-5 from three and 4-for-4 at the free throw line to finish with 15 points, and he added eight assists.
Rhoden scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Gill blocked five shots, his 16th career game of three blocks or more, 10 of them coming this season. He has blocked 13 shots in three conference games.

"Without my teammates, there's no Myles Powell." - @Myles_MBP_23

After his 24/9/4 performance, the @SetonHallMBB senior recapped the Pirates' 5th straight victory with @John_Fanta. #HALLin pic.twitter.com/Ag65yrDfbS
— #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) January 9, 2020

News & Notes

Seton Hall is 11-4 overall, 3-0 in BIG EAST play. The Pirates are 3-0 for just the fourth time in program history (2017-18, 1998-99, 1992-93) and are also 2-0 in conference road games for just the second time ever (1999-00).
The Hall is now 12-9 all-time against Xavier, 3-4 at Cintas Center, including wins in each of the last two seasons.
The Pirates are now 93-13 (.877) since the start of the 2015-16 season when leading by seven or more at any point in the game.
The Hall is now 75-7 (.915) under head coach Kevin Willard when it scores 80 or more points in a game.
Seton Hall is now 8-0 this season when it out-rebounds its opponent.
This was Willard's 180th win at Seton Hall and 225th of his career.

Up Next
Seton Hall will return home for the next BIG EAST grind of a game Saturday when it hosts Marquette at Prudential Center at 4 p.m. The game will be telecast on CBS Sports Network with Rich Waltz, Bob Wenzel and Gary Parrish. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin handle radio responsibilities on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on XM 385 and the Pirate Sports Network.