Sam Hauser had 25 points, Markus Howard supplied 24 and No. 15 Marquette pulled away from visiting Providence 79-68 in a Big East matchup on Sunday.

Hauser made four 3-pointers and also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out four assists.

Howard, one of the nation's top scorers, played just three minutes in the Golden Eagles' victory over Georgetown on Tuesday because of a back injury. He added nine rebounds and three assists.

Marquette (16-3, 5-1 Big East) made 10 of 22 3-point attempts while Providence connected on just 4 of 19.

Nate Watson led Providence (11-7, 1-4) with 21 points while Alpha Diallo contributed 16 points and six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles, who trailed much of the opening half, took a one-point lead early in the second with a 10-2 spurt. Hauser scored five points during that span and Howard finished it off with two free throws for a 40-39 lead.

A 10-2 Marquette run gave the Golden Eagles a 54-47 lead. Sacar Anim started it with a 3-pointer and Ed Morrow capped it off with a three-point play.

Providence crept back within two with 5:31 left on a Watson dunk. Howard nudged the Eagles' lead to four with a jumper and Hauser followed with a three-point play.

Hauser's 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining stretched Marquette's advantage to 11 at 72-61. The Friars never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Diallo scored 12 points in the opening half as Providence grabbed a 33-25 lead.

Marquette went scoreless for a 5 1/2 minute stretch midway through the first half as the Friars established a nine-point lead. Diallo finished off a 7-0 spurt with a layup.

Diallo also scored the next five Providence points to answer baskets from the Golden Eagles.

The Eagles pulled within seven in the final minute on Morrow's dunk.

With 10 seconds left in the first half, Morrow was assessed a technical foul for pushing a Providence player after getting entangled with Drew Edwards. Diallo made one of the two free throws.

--Field Level Media