Zach Freemantle recorded a double-double to help Xavier hold off No. 7 Marquette for a 59-57 upset on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
Freemantle collected 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Musketeers prevented the Golden Eagles from starting Big East play 7-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Xavier (12-7, 4-4 Big East) seemingly had put the game away when it scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half to go up 45-26 with 14:56 to go. However, Marquette’s offense finally came to life.
The Golden Eagles (15-3, 6-1) fought all the way back to creep within 58-55 on Kam Jones’ layup with 1:11 left. Jones couldn’t sink a 3-point attempt that would have tied the contest 51 seconds later.
Following Jones’ miss, Marcus Foster went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line for the Musketeers. Jones scored down low to make it a one-possession game at 59-57, and Marquette ended up getting the ball back when a swarm of Golden Eagles tied up Ryan Conwell to force a jump ball with eight seconds to play.
With time winding down, Marquette failed to get up a final shot, giving Xavier the stunning victory.
Dailyn Swain chipped in 12 points and nine boards for the Musketeers, who also got nine points from both Foster and Dayvion McKnight.
David Joplin netted a game-high 18 points as the Golden Eagles got outshot 40.4 percent to 37.1 percent from the field. Jones finished with 11 points and six assists.
Marquette got off to a rough start, making only four of its first 16 field-goal attempts to fall into a 20-11 hole. Jones, who entered Saturday averaging a team-high 19.6 points per game for the Golden Eagles, didn’t score until the 8:34 mark of the first half.
Jones’ first basket made it 20-13, and Ben Gold later threw down a putback dunk to cut Marquette’s deficit to five.
That would be the closest the Golden Eagles got before the break, though. Xavier went on to close the first half on an 8-2 run for a 35-24 advantage at intermission.
–Field Level Media
