No. 15 Marquette survives Georgetown despite Markus Howard's injury

WASHINGTON — Sam Hauser scored a career-high 31 points, Theo John tied a career-high with 14 points, and No. 15 Marquette held on to beat Georgetown 74-71 on Tuesday night despite Markus Howard — the nation's fourth leading scorer — playing just three scoreless minutes due to lower back tightness.

John blocked Georgetown's James Akinjo's drive with four seconds left as Marquette (15-3, 4-1) won its fourth straight game.

Georgetown (12-6, 2-3) was led by Mac McClung with 24 points while Jessie Govan added 14 points and nine rebounds. McClung's desperation 3-point heave from half court was off the mark.

Hauser, the team's second leading scorer, picked up with Howard out by scoring 22 of his points in the second half including his basket to break a 70-all tie with less than a minute remaining.

Marquette, which trailed by as many as eight, took control midway through the second half after a 14-0 run gave them a 57-51 lead with 10:27 left. The Hoyas went over five minutes without scoring.

Howard took two of Marquette's first three shots but went to the sideline early and attempted to stretch out his back but never returned.

The nation's fourth leading scorer at 25.8 points per game, Howard had a career-high 53 points at Creighton on Jan. 9 to set a school and Big East scoring record.

Big picture

Marquette: The Golden Eagles, who have won four straight conference games for the first time since 2013 when they finished 14-4, will now have to wait to see how long Howard is sidelined.

Georgetown: With three freshman in the starting lineup, coach Patrick Ewing's squad is under .500 after five conference games for the third straight season and has lost eight straight games to ranked opponents going back to 2017.

Up next

Marquette: Returns home on Sunday to face Providence, which has started just 1-3 in conference play.

Georgetown: Wraps up a three game homestand by hosting Creighton on Monday.