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 An 8-0 run late in the half finally ended the Wildcats' hopes of
the day's second 15-2 upset at Scottrade Center, the Musketeers
wrapping up a 71-53 decision to set up a second round contest Sunday
night with Wisconsin.
Backup forward James Farr dominated inside with game-high totals of
18 points and 15 rebounds for Xavier (28-5), while forward Jalen
Reynolds added 12 points. Guards Remy Abell and Trevon Bluiett
contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
"They are big, strong boys," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said of
Farr and Reynolds. "Our group battled, but they are who I thought
they would be. We were right there in the second half. We didn't
back away."
 Center Joel Bolomboy paced Weber State (26-9), which won the Big Sky
Conference Tournament, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Guard McKay
Cannon scored 10 points.
The Musketeers never trailed, leading by as many as 15 points before
the first half's midway point before settling for a 34-23 halftime
lead when backup guard J.P. Macura drilled a long 3-pointer as time
expired.
With Cannon leading a balanced second half attack, the Wildcats drew
within 56-49 at the 8:04 mark when Kyndahl Hill canned a jumper. But
Xavier finally put them away, establishing a 64-49 advantage when
Macura beat the shot clock with a short jumper at the 4:15 mark.
The Musketeers sank 48.4 percent of their field goal tries and owned
a 43-27 rebounding advantage.
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"We played great defense tonight," Macura said. "We have a lot of
players that can make plays."
NOTES: Weber State C Joel Bolomboy is one of five finalists for the
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. ... Xavier is one of
only nine Division I schools appearing in the NCAA Tournament for
the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. ... The Wildcats' 26 victories
represents their 27th 20-win season in 54 Division I campaigns, as
well as a 13-win improvement over last season. ... The Musketeers'
2nd seed is their highest in program history. They were a third seed
in the 2003 and 2008 tournaments.
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