NCAA

Marquette 96, DePaul 94 (OT)

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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ROSEMONT, Ill. — Forward Davante Garner scored seven of his team-high 22 points in overtime as Marquette held off DePaul for a 96-94 Big East victory on Saturday at Allstate Arena.

Gardner’s two free throws with 32 seconds left gave the Golden Eagles the winning points as they opened a 95-89 lead.

Blue Demons guard Durrell McDonald cut the deficit to 95-92 with a baseline 3-pointer with 18 seconds showing, but Golden Eagles guard Derrick Wilson put the game out of reach at 96-92 with a free throw with 13 seconds left.

DePaul guard Brandon Young scored on an uncontested layup seven seconds later but a late steal and potential game-winning buzzer-beater by McDonald fell short.

Marquette (16-11, 8-6) has won four of its last five. DePaul (10-18, 2-13) dropped its season-high 10th straight.

Guard Todd Mayo had 19 points, forward Jamil Wilson had 18 and guard Chris Otule added 12 for the Golden Eagles.

Young scored a game-high 29 points, freshman guard Billy Garrett had a career-high 26 and McDonald added 13 for DePaul.

Gardner gave Marquette an 80-79 lead when he hit the first of two free throws with 30 seconds left in regulation. He missed the second and DePaul regained possession and called a timeout with 22 seconds left.

Garrett drove the lane but missed his shot with 8.1 seconds left and fouled Wilson, who pushed the lead to 82-79 with two free throws. Garrett replied with a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds showing to force an 82-82 deadlock and overtime.

DePaul shook off an 0-for-10 shooting start to make a game of it, trailing 44-41 at halftime.

The Blue Demons went without a field goal for the first 6:24 while Marquette opened an 8-1 lead. The Blue Demons broke the drought with Garrett’s 3-pointer at the 13:26 mark. The Golden Eagles also shot poorly in the same span, going 3-for-8.

Young led the charge back, scoring 10 of DePaul’s next 16 points as it battled to a 20-20 tie with 8:02 showing.

But Marquette went back ahead on Gardner’s three-point play and led by as many as seven points the rest of the way. Young had a game-high 13 first-half points while Gardner had 12.

The Golden Eagles quickly pushed the lead into double digits with eight unanswered points for a 52-41 lead in a three-minute span to start the second half and extended it to 15 at 58-42 with 15:01 showing.

But DePaul slowly chipped away from there, using five 3-pointers — including two apiece from Garrett and McDonald – and nine free throws to creep back into contention.

The Blue Demons tied it at 77-77 on Young’s driving layup with 1:43 left in regulation. Garrett’s layup 56 seconds later forced a 79-79 tie.

NOTES: Saturday’s game opened a final Big East stretch for DePaul, with three of its final home games at Allstate Arena. … The 114th meeting between the programs is the longest of any series for DePaul and No. 2 all-time for Marquette (the Golden Eagles have played Wisconsin 120 times). Marquette leads 69-44 and had won 11 of the last 13 meetings. … The Blue Demons’ last win was a 51-50 decision on Jan. 20, 2010, at Allstate Arena. … Golden Eagles forward Jamil Wilson earned Big East honor roll mention after averaging 20.5 points last week. … Guard Tom Mayo (10.1 points) is a candidate for the Big East sixth-man award. … DePaul entertains Seton Hall on Tuesday while Marquette is home Thursday against Georgetown.

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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