NEWARK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Seton Hall and Xavier gained homecourt victories in rivalry games on Tuesday. The Pirates took control late in the first and went on to post an 80-65 win. Xavier overcame Butler’s second-half rally to register an 85-71 victory.
At Prudential Center, Seton Hall and St. John’s were tied 24-24 with 4:33 left in the first half. The Pirates (13-5, 6-1 BIG EAST) scored the game’s next 28 points – 14 in the first half and the first 14 in the second half. Five Pirates reached double figures. Al-Amir Dawes scored a game-high 21 points. Dylan Addae-Wusu added 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. St. John’s (12-6, 4-3) competed without coach Rick Pitino, who missed the game due to illness. Daniss Jenkins led the Red Storm with 17 points.
At Cintas Center, after Butler had erased a 19-point deficit with the help of a 20-3 run, Xavier used a late spurt of its own to pick up an 85-71 victory. The Musketeers (9-8, 3-3) were led by Desmond Claude, who netted a career-high 26 points. Dayvion McKnight added 20 points. Butler (11-7, 2-5) got 22 points from Pierre Brooks and a season-high 21 from Posh Alexander.
Like Tuesday, Wednesday’s two-game schedule is a doubleheader on FS1. Connecticut, newly-anointed No. 1 in this week’s AP poll, hosts No. 18 Creighton at Gampel Pavilion at 7 p.m. ET. The Bluejays (13-4, 4-2) have won six of the seven meetings since the Huskies (13-4, 4-2) rejoined the BIG EAST with UConn’s only win coming in last year’s contest 69-60 at Gampel.
Providence visits DePaul at 9 p.m. Both teams are aiming to end four-game losing streaks. Devin Carter has been on a hot scoring run and leads the Friars (11-6, 2-4). In BIG EAST games, he ranks first in scoring with a 21.7 average. DePaul’s top scorer in league play is forward Da’Sean Nelson, who sports a 16.2 scoring mark.