Marquette beats Xavier, Kam Jones leads Golden Eagles with 30 points
Kam Jones dribbles the ball while being guarded by Dayvion McKnight of the Xavier Musketeers. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI - Kam Jones had 30 points and Oso Ighodaro scored 24 to help No. 8 Marquette snap a two-game losing streak with an 86-80 victory over Xavier on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles (23-8, 14-6 Big East), who were without injured guard Tyler Kolek for the third straight game, secured the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament.
Quincy Olivari, a graduate transfer from Rice who was playing his final home game at Xavier, had 32 points and Dayvion McKnight scored 16.
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Xavier (15-16, 9-11) is trying to avoid its first losing season in 28 years.
Marquette led by as many as nine points in the first half. Olivari's 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer cut the Musketeers' deficit to 37-33.
Olivari made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Musketeers a 46-41 lead early in the second half.
A 3-pointer by Ben Gold started a 10-0 run to help the Golden Eagles regain control.
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The Musketeers committed eight turnovers in the first half, but had only four the rest of the way.
Stevie Mitchell's 3-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 78-74 lead with 2:57 remaining.
There were 14 ties and 11 lead changes as the conference rivals battled down to the final minutes.
It was the 86th meeting in the series, which began in 1958. Marquette leads 58-27, including a 15-14 mark since the schools joined the Big East.
Big picture
Marquette: Kolek missed his third straight game with an oblique injury. Kolek, who averages 15 points and shoots 40% from 3-point range, participated in warmups Saturday and could return for the Big East Tournament.
Xavier: The Musketeers' streak of 27 consecutive winning seasons is tied for the nation's fourth longest. They haven't finished below .500 since 1996, which was their first season in the Atlantic 10 conference.
Up next
Xavier: Plays Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Marquette: Begins its tournament play Thursday.