Late Surge Allows Seton Hall To Eclipse Xavier

The Xavier Musketeers led most of the game but the Seton Hall Pirates rallied late on the back of Myles Powell to ruin the first Big East home game of 2019 .with an 80-70 win

Xavier led by 10 points with 12:16 left in the game but a scoring drought caused by a flurry of five turnovers in nine possessions allowed the Pirates to pass Xavier like they were standing still.

http://www.wiedemannbeer.com/

"We had a stretch where we had a lot of turnovers and that cost us the game right there," said Paul Scruggs. "We're playing the game way too fast. We're thinking two steps ahead when we need to be thinking one step. They're a great team. We've just got to stick it out. Just got to toughen up on the offense. We let one slip away."

Six minutes after Xavier established its largest lead of the half, Seton Hall scored tied the game at 63-63 with 6:26 left.  The Pirates outscored Xavier 17-7 over the final six minutes.

Powell ended up with 25 points and perhaps even more important he dished out eight assists.

"Myles is as good as any player in the country," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said.  "I loved the way he passed the basketball today.  He is really starting to understand with all the attention he's getting, there's guys open and they're going to make plays for him."

ht[[s://amazon.com/

Powell took over late in the game.

"I know I'm the leader of this team," Powell said.  "My guys are looking for me to lead them.  We've been here.  We're battle tested.  We came out with a big win."

Xavier led most of the first half but Seton Hall took a 31-30 lead on a layup by Powell with 5:58 left in the first half.  Xavier completed a 9-0 run.  Powell the Pirates' leading scorer on the season took control.  He scored five points down the stretch to cut the lead to 42-38 at halftime.

Zach Hanke established a new Musketeer and Division I high with 18 points.  His previous high was 15 points on November 20, against San Diego State.  His career high is 31 points for Ferris State of NCAA Division II against Northern Michigan on February 17, 2018.

http://donatelifeohio.org/

In the second half, Hanke was quiet with two points.  Paul Scruggs led Xavier with 22 points.

"The biggest thing we did against Hanke, we changed our pick and roll coverage," Willard said. "We were way to extended in the first half and let him get some easy rolls. He had way too many uncontested layups.  The biggest thing we did was tighten up the floor and make it hard for him to operate."

Seton Hall (11-3, 2-0) was coming off a two-point win over St. John's.  They had an overtime win over Kentucky at Madison Square Gardens and a 78-74 win on the road at Maryland.

"Coach had a good pre-season schedule for us with Kentucky and Maryland," Powell said.  "It battle tested us.  Now with conference play, coach has always told us the in conference play, it is going down to the wire.  Each possession is important.  We came out and executed.  We did what coach wanted us to do and we came out on top."

It was two down and 16 to go in Willard's eyes.

"It is a real good start to the season," Willard said.  "I think St. John's is one of the best teams in the league and to come on the road to one of the toughest places to play, that's two good wins in a row.  But we still have 16 more to go."

Xavier hopes to bounce back against Marquette on Sunday.

"We have to bounce back, like St. John's did after losing to these guys," Xavier coach Travis Steele said.  "Powell is one of the best players in the country.  He will surely be all Big East.  We have to take better care of the basketball."