Field Level Media
Jan 20, 2018
J.P. Macura scored 18 of his season-high 27 points in the second half as No. 11 Xavier rallied down the stretch for a 73-64 win over No. 19 Seton Hall Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The senior guard finished one shy of his career high as Xavier (18-3, 6-2 Big East) secured its third straight win with a 15-5 run over the last 4 1/2 minutes.
Macura made 8 of 14 shots and highlighted his big game with a spectacular dunk with 1:29 left. After Trevon Bluiett missed a short jumper, Macura raced in from behind the 3-point line and converted the dunk over Seton Hall's Myles Powell for a 67-60 lead.
Macura also hit 8 of 10 free throws as Xavier made its last seven attempts from the line. His dunk was his fourth offensive rebound and one of Xavier's 12 boards on the offensive end.
Trevon Bluiett added 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting as the Musketeers shot 43.1 percent.
Desi Rodriguez scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half for Seton Hall (15-5, 4-3) after picking up three fouls in the first half. Khadeen Carrington added 14 but shot 5-of-19 and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts as the Pirates lost their first home game of the season.
Powell added 11 points but misfired on 8 of 11 attempts. Seton Hall center Angel Delgado fell just short of another double-double with eight points and 18 rebounds.
Seton Hall held three eight-point leads in the opening 7 1/2 minutes of the second half. Xavier took its first lead since the early minutes of the game on a 3-pointer by Macura with 8:23 remaining.
After Macura's 3-pointer, Seton Hall scored the next six points for a 57-52 lead on a jumper by Delgado with 6:46 remaining. Macura and Bluiett made 3-pointers for a 58-57 lead with 5:53 left but Seton Hall took its last lead at 59-58 on a basket by Carrington with 4:35 to go.
Xavier took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Kaiser Gates with 4:12 to play and Macura scored six points in the Musketeers' game-ending run.
-- Field Level Media