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No. 14 Marquette outlasts Villanova, stays in first place

Tyler Kolek had 20 points and Kam Jones added 18 as No. 14 Marquette retained a share of the Big East lead with a 73-64 victory over Villanova on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.

Marquette took control late with a 14-1 run over a six-minute span, pushing the lead to 71-62 on two free throws by Olivier-Maxence Prosper with 14 seconds left. Villanova went 7 1/2 minutes without a field goal until Caleb Daniels’ dunk with 10 seconds remaining.

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Marquette (18-5, 10-2 Big East) has won four straight and nine of its last 10. The Golden Eagles remained tied atop the conference with No. 16 Xavier, which edged No. 17 Providence 85-83 in overtime Wednesday.

Daniels and Eric Dixon had 14 points apiece for Villanova (10-12, 4-7), which has dropped four straight against Marquette.

Brendan Hausen hit a 3-pointer with 7:42 left to put the Wildcats up 59-55. After Marquette tied the game, Dixon hit one of two free throws to put Villanova in front 62-61 with 4:49 remaining.

Kolek answered with two free throws to put Marquette in front for good as Villanova missed five consecutive shots and committed a turnover.

The Wildcats finished with 19 turnovers, which led to 18 Marquette points. The Golden Eagles also had a 21-13 edge in fastbreak points and registered 15 assists on 22 field goals.

Kolek and David Joplin sandwiched 3-pointers around a Villanova turnover to give the Golden Eagles their first lead of the second half at 48-44 with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Villanova shot 57.9 percent in the first half, making 11 of 19 shots — including 7 of 13 from beyond the arc — but led just 35-34 at the break.

Marquette stayed close by scoring eight points off 11 turnovers. Jones hit a 3-pointer near midcourt at the buzzer to pull the Golden Eagles within one.

–Field Level Media

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