Olivari's 29 Helps Musketeers Offensive Explosion vs Seton Hall 74-54

                                 (photo by Noah Garel)

All spirits are high for Xavier heading into Christmas break after a huge win at home vs Seton Hall, achieving their first win of Big East play for the season.

Both teams offenses got off to a very slow start to start today combining to go 10/41 from the floor and 0/6 from three. Yes there was strong defensive efforts, but also a lot of good shots that didn't go through the hoop.

But going into the Under 8 Media timeout of the first half, Dayvion McKnight hit a big three-point shot to give Xavier the 17-14 lead. Quincy Olivari followed that up with his first three of the game, then a layup in the next possession and things started to look up for Xavier. 

Dayvion McKnight for 3️⃣! pic.twitter.com/lvG8f8Uwbg

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) December 23, 2023

3️⃣ for @quincyolivari, he's got 11! pic.twitter.com/phtgXKQPeN

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) December 23, 2023

Seton Hall followed this up with a 5-0 run of their own to make it a 22-19 game, then the Musketeers found a role again behind their veteran leaders of McKnight, Olivari and Abou Ousmane. Xavier hit five of their six shots during this time.

With 1:15 to go in the half Olivari had a laying that extended Xavier's lead to eleven, 32-21 before Kadari Richmond had four straight points making it a 32-25 game going into the half. Quincy lead all scorers with 15.

Coming out of the half, Dre Davis stepped up with nine quick points for Seton Hall get within one point at 41-40 with 13:51 remaining. After this, McKnight and Al-Amir Dawes traded baskets, and then, Xavier's offense took over the game.

It started with Abou Ousmane getting a dunk, then followed that with a hook shot and a huge blocked shot on the other side of the court.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂. 𝗢𝘂𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲. 💪 pic.twitter.com/OUMfG7ywOw

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) December 23, 2023

On the next possession McKnight knocked down another three-pointer, then freshman Trey Green hit his fist three on a fast-break to extend the lead to eleven. 

Trey Green for 3️⃣ and the lead is back to double figures! pic.twitter.com/8qmvYGk5Nf

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) December 23, 2023

Desmond Claude and Ousmane each had a basket to keep the run going before the Pirates finally broke the streak with a basket from Dylan Addae-Wusu, but then Trey Green knocked down another three pushing the Xavier lead to 16.

Dre Davis got another made basket before once again, Quincy Olivari got one more big run in him with two three made threes down the stretch getting him to 29 points and helping Xavier get their first Big East win of the season. 

This was the kind of game Xavier was waiting to see from their offense. As a group Xavier shot 10/20 from three and 44% overall from the floor. Through the entire game they had just nine turnovers and also blocked eight shots.

As far as their leaders go, they continued to do their thing. As mentioned Olivari had 29 points keeping his crazy run going over the last five games. Also, Abou Ousmane recorded his second double-double of the year with 16 points and ten rebounds. Dayvion McKnight continued his stellar playmaking with a double-double of his own scoring 15 points and recording ten assists.

Another huge thing from this game is that Xavier found a way to win the way they did when Desmond Claude didn't have his best day. Claude had just four points in 37 minutes of play though he did pick up five assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal.

While the freshman tandem of Trey Green and Dailyn Swain may not have had a huge scoring day, they certainly had their moments. Green hit those two huge threes mentioned earlier while also snagging three steals and two assists. Swain had four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal plus an excellent coast-to-coast layup late in the second half.

Dailyn Swain drives to the bucket! pic.twitter.com/mkzX8umVrL

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) December 23, 2023

Now, Xavier sits at 7-6 overall, and 1-1 in the Big East. They get their time to rest since they won't play again until January 3rd when they head to Philadelphia to take on Villanova. The Wildcats traveled to DePaul today and destroyed the Blue Demons so they also are feeling pretty good going into the break.