Whitehead returns with a splash, sparks Hall past Xavier

NEWARK –

He dove into a courtside table going for a loose ball. He pumped his arm emphatically at midcourt. He hit shots, got deflections and set up teammates.

Isaiah Whitehead returned to action Saturday, and so did the juice in Seton Hall's season.

After missing six weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot, the freshman guard scored 19 off the bench to lift the Pirates past a good Xavier team 90-82 before 8,205 at the Prudential Center.

"This was about getting my feet wet, and once I got my confidence back, the sky was the limit," Whitehead said. "It felt great just to see my team with that emotion, playing their hearts out, and we got the win. It was a great day."

Seton Hall (15-6, 5-4) is back on track for an NCAA Tournament berth with winnable games against DePaul and Marquette upcoming.

The verdict also exacted a measure of revenge against Xavier (14-8, 5-5), which dealt the Whitehead-less Hall a 69-58 setback in Cincinnati Jan. 7, touching off a string of four losses in five games.

"Once we started losing a lot of negativity started coming in from the outside world, and we started getting caught up in that," said senior forward Brandon Mobley, who chipped in 13 points and seven boards. "We actually had a players-only meeting where we aired a lot of things out. Everybody got on the step of winning again, and it started on the defensive end."

Xavier shot a woeful 1 of 19 from 3-point range, with Plainfield native Myles Davis going 0 for 7. Whitehead enhanced Seton Hall's defensive intensity with nine deflections and three steals. He hit the floor several times to come up with loose balls.

"That more than anything else was the biggest boost he gave us," Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "He picked us up with the intangibles."

Not to be left out, junior guard Sterling Gibbs paced the Pirates with 22 points and eight assists. Gibbs, Whitehead and sophomore guard Jaren Sina turned the ball over just twice between them.

"Sterling is playing his heart out right now," Whitehead said. "I feel he's clearly the Big East Player of the year. He's balling right now, and there's nothing people can do about it."

In the game's most telling sequence, Sina saved a loose ball that was going out of bounds at mid-court and sent it long to Whitehead, who crashed into the baseline media table rescuing it for a Gibbs' layup.

"We put a lot of pressure on defenses," Gibbs said. "They have to pick and choose who they want to try to stop. That's really hard for them to do because everyone can score."

For example: Freshmen forward Desi Rodriguez kicked in 16 points and six rebounds off the bench.

"I tried to spark the team," Rodriguez said. "Everybody feeds off my energy. I thought I had a mismatch and I wanted to be aggressive."

Whitehead was aggressive too, showing zero signs of rust. A standing ovation greeted his return when he checked in at the 16-minute timeout in the first half. He contributed immediately, hitting a 3-pointer in the left corner as the Pirates took a 20-10 lead midway through the period.

"They (the fans) gave me some great energy going into the game," Whitehead said. "I had to return it to them."

Xavier roared back with a 17-1 run before the Hall counterpunched with an 8-0 spree to take a 38-37 lead into halftime.

Foul trouble took hold for both sides in the second half as the officiating crew employed a tight -- and sometimes controversial -- whistle. Willard did a good job going to his bench and rotating bodies, and the Pirates finally gained separation with four minutes left. Gibbs and Whitehead scored four points apiece in a decisive 9-0 run.

Whitehead was supposed to play a max of 16 minutes but ended up logging 23.

"I didn't think he would play as many minutes as he played," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "When a guy sits down as long as he does, he may only be an emotional (factor). It's rare to do what he did, walk out there and play 20-plus minutes, almost lead the team in scoring and make big free throws down the stretch. Honestly, it looked like he never left."

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannett.com.