Markus Howard followed up the most productive game in Big East history by scoring 26 points as No. 21 Marquette remained unbeaten at home with a 70-66 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
Three days after setting a school and Big East record with 53 points, Howard scored 18 in the first half. Howard finished 7 of 20, missed 6 of 9 3-point attempts but drained all nine free throws while adding six rebounds and six assists.
Howard also committed five of Marquette's season-high 20 turnovers, which allowed Seton Hall to get back in the game after trailing by 10 at halftime.
Seton Hall (12-5, 3-2) held a 63-62 lead with 3:05 remaining after Myles Powell hit a 3-pointer, but Marquette (14-3, 3-1) took the lead for good on two free throws by Theo John with 2:12 remaining and then held on for its 11th win in 12 games.
After Howard's 3-point try was blocked by Michael Nzei, Powell missed an off-balance 3-pointer with 1:12 left as he tried to draw a foul. Marquette then beat Seton Hall's 2-3 zone on a cutting layup by Joey Hauser with 48 seconds left for a 66-63 lead.
With 45 seconds to go, the Pirates called a timeout, and Quincy McKnight hit a reverse layup to make it a one-point game with 37 seconds left. After Hauser split a pair at the line with 27 seconds left, McKnight missed a contested 3-pointer with seven seconds left.
John split two free throws, and four seconds later Howard fouled McKnight for a one-and-one situation. McKnight made the first and purposely missed the second, but Sam Hauser seized the rebound and iced the game at the line with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Sacar Amin added 14, while Sam Hauser contributed 13 for the Golden Eagles, who shot 32 percent in the second half, 40.7 percent overall and missed all nine 3-point attempts after halftime.
Powell scored 21 points for Seton Hall, which fell to 6-4 in games decided by five points or less. Sandro Mamukelashvili and McKnight added 13 points apiece as the Pirates shot 42.2 percent.
Howard scored 10 straight points and was up to 15 points as Marquette took a 23-17 lead on his 3-pointer with 9:54 left. Marquette expanded the lead to 31-19 on a 3-pointer by Amin with 5:05 remaining and held a 40-30 lead at halftime after Powell beat the buzzer with an off-balance 3-pointer.
--Field Level Media
Seton Hall | Marquette | |
Myles Powell 21 | Scoring | Markus Howard 26 |
Quincy McKnight 7 | Assists | Markus Howard 6 |
Myles Powell 9 | Rebounds | Theo John 11 |
Sandro Mamukelashvili 2 | Free Throws Made | Markus Howard 9 |
Myles Cale 2 | Steals | Sacar Anim 2 |
Sandro Mamukelashvili 3 | Blocks | Theo John 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Seton Hall | 66 | 42.2 | 6-19 | 6-9 | 13 | 32 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
Marquette | 70 | 40.7 | 6-23 | 20-24 | 14 | 30 | 6 | 8 | 20 |