No. 18 Marquette downs DePaul to halt three-game skid

Field Level Media|published: Tue 11th February, 23:12 2025

Feb 11, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; DePaul Blue Demons forward NJ Benson (35) shoots against Marquette Golden Eagles forward David Joplin (23) during the first half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Kam Jones had 19 points and Stevie Mitchell added 17 as 18th-ranked Marquette snapped a three-game skid with a 68-58 Big East victory over DePaul on Tuesday in Milwaukee.

David Joplin pulled down 10 rebounds and Mitchell added seven to pace the Golden Eagles to a 44-36 edge on the boards and a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points.

Jones moved into third on Marquette's all-time scoring list with 1,870 points, surpassing Lazar Hayward's 1,859 points from 2006-10.

The Golden Eagles (19-6, 10-4 Big East) recovered after dropping seven spots in the poll this week following conference losses on the road to then-No. 12 St. John's and Creighton.

CJ Gunn had 14 points and Isaiah Rivera scored 13 for DePaul (11-14, 2-12), which has lost 10 of its last 12.

Jones hit a pair of jumpers from the lane and then connected on two of three free throws to put Marquette up 42-36 with 16:15 left in the second half. Mitchell's layup put the Golden Eagles in front 48-38 with just over 13 minutes remaining.

The Blue Demons went more than five minutes without scoring before Gunn's 3-pointer from the left corner made it 54-41 with 10:27 left.

Another triple from Gunn brought DePaul within 62-54 with 2:08 to go, but Mitchell hit six free throws down the stretch to close it out.

The Blue Demons, who lost at home to Marquette 85-83 in overtime on Jan. 14, shot 41.7 percent overall, but were just 4-of-24 from 3-point range (16.7 percent). The Golden Eagles shot just 37.3 percent for the game, including 4-of-25 from deep (16 percent).

DePaul missed its first eight attempts from beyond the arc before David Thomas and Rivera connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Blue Demons within 32-30 with 48 seconds left in the first half.

Layden Blocker stole an in-bounds pass and hit a jumper at the buzzer to pull DePaul within 34-32 at the break.

Marquette had 10 first-half points off eight Blue Demon turnovers.

DePaul did not attempt a free throw in the first half and finished 4-of-9 for the game, while the Golden Eagles shot 14-of-20 overall from the stripe.

--Field Level Media