National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Marquette 81, Xavier 72
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 15, 2014
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Officials: # Doug Shows, # Brian O'Connell, # Paul Szelc
Attendance: 18644

Marquette 81, Xavier 72:
Jake Thomas scored 18 points on a career-best six 3-pointers to lift the host Golden Eagles in Big East play and prevent a season sweep by the Musketeers.

Jamil Wilson finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and Davante Gardner added 16 off the bench for Marquette (15-10, 7-5 Big East), which extended its winning streak to a season-high three games. Todd Mayo chipped in 13 points off the bench and had six of the team's 17 assists.

Justin Martin led Xavier (17-8, 7-5) with 20 points and seven rebounds while Matt Stainbrook finished with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Semaj Christon contributed 10 points and six assists while Myles Davis scored 12 points off the bench.

Xavier fell behind early in the first half as the Golden Eagles went on a 17-4 run to make it 21-10 midway through the period. The Musketeers trimmed the deficit to six after a 3-pointer by Davis with just under five minutes remaining, but turnovers allowed Marquette to regain a 39-29 advantage at the break.

Marquette led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but the Musketeers came within 75-71 in the final two minutes. Isaiah Philmore missed a put-back with 1:22 remaining and Christon missed two free throws as the Golden Eagles hit six from the line to put away the game.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Christon, who leads the Musketeers in scoring, didn't make his first field goal until the 1:15 mark of the first half. ... Xavier committed 12 turnovers on Jan. 9 against Marquette and had 11 in the first half alone on Saturday before finishing with 19. ... Marquette G Derrick Wilson had nine points and a career-high six steals, five of which came in the first half.
Top Game Performances
 
Xavier   Marquette
Justin Martin 20 Scoring Jake Thomas 18
Dee Davis 7 Assists Todd Mayo 6
Justin Martin 7 Rebounds Jamil Wilson 5
Justin Martin 6 Free Throws Made Davante Gardner 10
Semaj Christon 2 Steals Derrick Wilson 6
Erik Stenger 1 Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Xavier 72 54.2 5-12 15-21 16 29 1 3 19
Marquette 81 46.2 9-18 24-27 17 18 0 10 5