No. 11/10 #MUBB Battles Back to Beat No. 16/16 Xavier 69-68

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's basketball team (21-6, 13-3 BIG EAST) battled back against Xavier (19-7, 11-4 BIG EAST) to win 69-68 Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.

Stevie Mitchell led the Golden Eagles on both ends of the floor with 17 points and a career-high 6 steals. Souley Boum paced Xavier with 22 points on an efficient 66.7% (10-15) shooting from the field.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the second half with both sides exchanging leads. Xavier took a late one-point lead on a Jack Nunge layup with 8-seconds remaining in the contest. Olivier-Maxence Prosper tipped in a missed layup with 1-second remaining to give MU a 69-68 advantage.

The Xavier Musketeers led the Golden Eagles 28-24 at the intermission. Xavier's defense caused fits for the Golden Eagles, shooting 34.4% (11-32) in the first half. MU was able to trim the Musketeer's 13-point lead down to four before the break.

UP NEXT:
Marquette hits the road to take on Creighton on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Notables:

With this victory, MU holds sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST
Marquette now leads the series 56-27 all-time and 32-8 at home against the Musketeers
MU is 6-4 when trailing at the half
It is Mitchell's sixth double-figure point game this season and his most points since his career-high 19 points at Villanova (Dec. 31)
Tyler Kolek recorded his sixth consecutive game in double-figures with 13 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists
Oso Ighodaro finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds

Keep up with the Marquette men's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMBB) and Instagram (@marquette.basketball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMensBB). Fans interested in tickets can contact the Marquette Ticket Office online or at 414-288-GOMU (4668).