National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Marquette 86, Xavier 80
When: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 9, 2024
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials: # John Gaffney, # Matt Potter, # Jeffrey Anderson
Attendance: 10380

Kam Jones scored a team-high 30 points while Oso Ighodaro added 24 to lift No. 8 Marquette past Xavier, 86-80, on Saturday in Cincinnati in the Big East regular-season finale for both teams.

In a game that featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes, Xavier (15-16, 9-11 Big East) took its final lead, 73-72, on a Dayvion McKnight fastbreak layup with 4:02 left in the game.

On the next possession, Marquette (23-8, 14-6) took the lead for good on a step-back 3 from Jones with 3:34 to go.

The Golden Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak, winning their first game in three tries without standout guard Tyler Kolek, who has been sidelined with a strained oblique.

Xavier was paced by Quincy Olivari, honored before the game on Senior Day. He had a game-high 32 points, while McKnight added 16 to go along with eight assists for the Musketeers.

With Xavier leading 23-21 following a Desmond Claude turnaround jumper with 6:41 left in the first half, Marquette took control.

Sparked by 11 points from Jones, the Golden Eagles went on a 16-5 spurt to take their largest lead of the game, 37-28, with 41 seconds left in the half.

Xavier found some valuable momentum at the end of the period, scoring the final five points, including a trey at the buzzer from Olivari.

The Musketeers continued their climb back into the game to start the second half, as Claude drained his first two shots and Olivari added a step-back triple from the corner to put Xavier back on top at 40-39.

Another Olivari 3, this one on the fastbreak, gave the Musketeers a 46-41 advantage with 17:37 remaining.

An Olivari jumper gave Xavier its biggest lead, 57-51, with 13:40 to go. But Ighodaro's dunk sparked a 10-0 run to move Marquette back in front.

That outburst was ended by Olivari's sixth 3-pointer as the game continued to swing back and forth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Marquette   Xavier
Kam Jones 30 Scoring Quincy Olivari 32
Kam Jones 9 Assists Dayvion McKnight 8
Oso Ighodaro 5 Rebounds Lazar Djokovic 6
Stevie Mitchell 4 Free Throws Made Dayvion McKnight 6
Chase Ross 2 Steals Desmond Claude 1
Oso Ighodaro 3 Blocks Kachi Nzeh 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Marquette 86 56.9 8-19 12-19 16 24 4 5 8
Xavier 80 48.1 7-17 21-27 18 26 1 3 12