National Basketball Association
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
By Field Level Media
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 |