No. 21 Marquette bombs from outside, cruises past Providence

Ben Gold scored a career-best 17 points and Kam Jones had 17 points and seven assists to lift No. 21 Marquette to an 82-52 victory against visiting Providence on Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Celebrating his 23rd birthday, Jones swished four of Marquette's season-high 17 3-pointers, matching Stevie Mitchell for the team high. The Golden Eagles (21-7, 12-5 Big East) won for the third time in four games on the heels of a three-game losing streak.

Marquette led by as many as 31 points while limiting Providence to 25.8 percent shooting in the second half. A breakout from Gold, who had 20 combined points in seven games before Tuesday, steadied the attack.

Jayden Pierre paced Providence with 13 points. Rich Barron and Oswin Erhunmwunse followed with eight points apiece while Oswin Erhunmwunse had game highs of eight rebounds and three blocks.

Providence (12-16, 6-11) has lost six of seven. The Friars opened the game on a 6-0 run and turned their early momentum into a 17-15 lead before fading behind spotty ball control. Providence, which committed 18 turnovers, shot 33.9 percent from the floor (19 of 56) compared to 44.3 percent (27 of 61) for the Golden Eagles.

Mitchell added 14 points for Marquette. David Joplin and Gold both had six rebounds. The Golden Eagles set a school record with 41 attempted 3s.

Strong perimeter play propelled Marquette to a 43-32 halftime lead. Seven players combined to connect on 12 3-pointers, a season-best for treys in a half.

Of Marquette's 30 attempted field goals before the break, just four came from inside the arc. The Golden Eagles had more 3-pointers attempted (26) than the Friars had overall field-goal attempts (25) in the first half.

Although the Golden Eagles led by as many as 15 in the early going, occasional lulls from deep helped Providence draw closer.

Nilavan Jotham Daniels contributed five points over a 29-second span late in the first half to help the Friars cut the deficit to nine before Marquette regrouped.

Marquette secured a season sweep of Providence after earning a 78-50 road victory on Dec. 31. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 26-15.

--Field Level Media