clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

James Farr, JP, and the bench mob lead Xavier past Seton Hall

That was bad right until it got very good.

Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

Seton Hall came in off the back of two very good performances against ranked teams. For about 25 minutes, they looked like they were going to put together another one, but Xavier tightened the screws and made plays down the stretch to get the win.

Sean O'Mara is the future and possibly the present

With Jalen picking up a couple of quick fouls and James needing a breather, X turned to Sean O'Mara for some first half minutes. All he did was put himself in good positions and get buckets. He still has work to do against more athletic rebounders, but he already has scoring moves to each hand and is occasionally playing above the rim. I like what we're getting out of him right now.

The depth is real

Edmond Sumner was a big part of Xavier's pulling away in the second half, but maybe the next three most instrumental players were JP Macura, Sean O'Mara, and Big Game James, all of whom came off the bench. With Tre taking a bit to get going and Jalen still playing in wet sand, having energy, skill, and versatility off the bench is huge.

This is a team built to go on runs

USC felt it, Wake Forest felt it, Cinci felt it, Marquette felt it, and now Seton Hall felt it. With the Pirates hanging around in the second half, Xavier suddenly started getting stops and scores and ripped off a 17-5 run. A nail-biting finish was averted as X controlled the game down the stretch.