Xavier holds on down the stretch to earn 59-57 road upset at No. 7 Marquette

Zach Freemantle had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Xavier hung on in the final seconds to beat No. 7 Marquette, 59-57, to earn its third straight victory while snapping the Golden Eagles’ six-game winning streak on Saturday.

Xavier (12-7, 4-4 Big East) never trailed and led by as many as 19 but needed to make a stop in the final seconds to preserve the victory. Xavier’s Dailyn Swain appeared to knock the ball away as Marquette’s Stevie Mitchell was driving to the basket before a potential tying shot could be attempted.

Marquette (15-3, 6-1) had won its last five meetings in this series, including a 72-70 triumph at Xavier on Dec. 21. Freemantle didn’t play against Marquette last month because of a lower-body injury.

David Joplin had 17 points to lead Marquette.

Takeaways

Xavier: The Musketeers got the signature win they needed to boost their NCAA Tournament credentials. Xavier earned its first win over a top-10 team since beating then-No. 2 UConn 83-73 at home on Dec. 31, 2022.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles went scoreless for a stretch of nearly five minutes early in the second half as Xavier extended its lead to 45-26. They had come from behind to beat Georgetown and DePaul in their last two games, but they dug themselves too big a hole this time.

Key moment

Marquette got one last chance when Joplin forced a tie ball with Xavier’s Ryan Conwell with 8.6 seconds remaining. Chase Ross inbounded the ball to Kam Jones, whose pass was deflected before Mitchell got it in 3-point range. Mitchell tried driving to the basket but couldn’t attempt a shot.

Key stats

Neither team got much production from its leading scorers. Conwell, coming off a 34-point performance in a victory over Villanova, had six points and shot 3 of 13 overall and 0 of 8 from 3-point range. Jones had 11 points, shot 5 of 13, went 1 of 6 from beyond the arc and missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left.

Up next

Marquette visits Seton Hall on Tuesday. Xavier is at St. John’s on Wednesday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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