Jones scores 28 as No. 25 Marquette rallies past Xavier 89-87 in Big East quarterfinal

Kam Jones scored 28 points to surpass 2,000 for his career and No. 25 Marquette rallied past Xavier 89-87 on Thursday in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.

After trailing by 14 early in the second half, the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (23-9) took the lead for good at 81-80 on Jones’ layup with 1:16 remaining.

David Joplin connected on a pivotal 3-pointer with 26 seconds left, and Marquette held on to earn a semifinal matchup with sixth-ranked and top-seeded St. John’s on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Ryan Conwell scored a career-high 38 points for Xavier (21-11), a school record for a Big East Tournament game. The fourth-seeded Musketeers, perched precariously on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament bid, had won seven straight.

With former Marquette star Dwyane Wade sitting in the front row, Conwell shot 13 of 18 from the field and 7 for 11 on 3-pointers — including a long one he tossed in at the buzzer. Zach Freemantle had 15 points and Dailyn Swain added 11.

Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell scored 16 points apiece for Marquette. Joplin finished with 14.

Takeaways

Xavier went 11 of 23 (48%) on 3s. Should the Musketeers make the NCAA Tournament, that will be a key weapon in their arsenal.

Jones boosted his career total to 2,005 points. Marquette heads into the semifinals on the strength of his scoring, but the Golden Eagles showed they’re more than a one-man band with five players in double figures.

Key moment

Ross stole the ball from Freemantle near the top of the key, leading to a 3 from Joplin that gave Marquette an 84-80 advantage with 26 seconds to play.

Key stat

Jones scored in double figures for the 48th straight game, the longest current streak in the country.

Up next

Xavier: Fingers crossed on Selection Sunday.

Marquette: Dropped both its regular-season games against St. John’s, losing 70-64 at MSG in early February and then 86-84 in overtime last Saturday at home.

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