Xavier Musketeers vs Marquette Golden Eagles Box Score on Dec 27, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 27, 2017

MILWAUKEE -- Trevon Bluiett scored 23 points and J.P. Macura added 15 as No. 6 Xavier extended its winning streak to eight games by holding off Marquette 91-87 on Wednesday night in the Big East season opener at the Bradley Center.

Marquette's Andrew Rowsey led all scorers with 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting. He sank six 3-pointers for the Golden Eagles, who hit 15 of 38 attempts from long distance and shot 46.4 percent from the floor overall. However, Marquette managed only 14 attempts from the foul line -- sinking eight -- while Xavier converted 22 of 24 free throws.

The Musketeers (13-1, 1-0 Big East) hit 7 of 22 from 3-point range and shot 50.8 percent overall.

Marquette (9-4, 0-1) needed more than three minutes to get on the board but tied the game at 15 on Greg Elliot's transition layup with 12:56 left in the opening half.

Fouls, turnovers and a string of empty possessions fueled a 10-3 Marquette run that put the Golden Eagles in front 21-18 midway through the half.

Tied at 47 coming out of halftime, it was a back-and-forth affair the rest of the way. Marquette took a five-point lead on Theo John's jumper with 12:38 left, but a Macura 3-pointer with 7:21 remaining gave Xavier a five-point cushion. After Howard's 3-point attempt came up empty, Bluiett fed Scruggs for a jumper to put the Musketeers up 72-65.

Marquette snuck back and got within a bucket before Quentin Goodin hit a pair of free throws with 4:20 left, putting Xavier back up four.

Rowsey scored eight straight points for Marquette, tying the game at 80 with 2:10 to play, but the Golden Eagles couldn't get over the hump.

NOTES: Xavier is off to its best 14-game start in program history. ... Marquette Gs Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey opened the conference slate first and second, respectively, in scoring among Big East players. ... Xavier G Trevon Bluiett came into the game fourth in the league at 19.8 points per game. ... Marquette swept the season series a year ago, snapping a six-game Musketeers winning streak. The Golden Eagles are 49-22 all-time against Xavier in a series that dates back to the 1958-59 season.