Marquette beats DePaul, Kolek has school-record 18 assists

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David Joplin #23 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrates at the end of the first half against the DePaul Blue Demons at Fiserv Forum on February 21, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

MILWAUKEE - Tyler Kolek had a school-record 18 assists, Kam Jones scored a career-high 34 points and No. 7 Marquette bounced back from its most-lopsided loss of the season to rout DePaul 105-71 on Wednesday night.

Marquette (20-6, 11-4 Big East) returned to form four nights after an 81-53 loss at No. 1 UConn that snapped the Golden Eagles’ eight-game winning streak. DePaul (3-23, 0-15) has lost 15 straight by an average margin of 24.1 points.

After Marquette's early 24-2 run, the only suspense remaining was whether Kolek would stay on the floor long enough to break the school’s 29-year-old assists record of 17 set by Tony Miller against Memphis on March 4, 1995.

Kolek, the reigning Big East player of the year, surpassed that mark while committing only two turnovers. He attempted only two shots and finished with three points.

Kolek tied the record by finding David Joplin for a dunk that gave Marquette an 89-48 lead with 9:54 remaining. Kolek got his 18th assist on an inbounds pass to Jones, who sank a 3-pointer that made it 95-52 with 8:31 left.

Jones’ basket also enabled him to surpass his previous career scoring high of 31, which came in a 91-57 triumph at Georgetown on Feb. 3. Jones shot 12 of 15 overall and made 8 of 10 3-point attempts.

Kolek and Jones both left the game for good with just over eight minutes left.

Oso Ighodaro added 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Marquette, which shot 59.5% from the floor as a team.

DePaul's Jaden Henley and Elijah Fisher had 19 points each. DePaul had 22 turnovers and only six assists.

DePaul has lost its last 27 Big East regular-season games, though the Blue Demons did beat Seton Hall in the first round of last year’s conference tournament. DePaul’s last Big East regular-season victory was a 73-72 win over Xavier on Jan. 18, 2023.

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Marquette never trailed and owned a 31-8 lead less than nine minutes into the game, thanks to an early 24-2 run. Jones scored 10 points during that spurt and Chase Ross capped the run by converting a steal into one of his three first-half dunks.

Kolek had 10 assists in the first 12 minutes of the game, getting his 10th on a lob to Ighodaro that extended Marquette’s lead to 37-13. He ended the first half with 13 assists and only one turnover while helping the Golden Eagles grab a 59-29 advantage.