Marquette's Henry Ellenson; Providence's Kris Dunn
MBB Minute: Late Surges Carry Butler, Marquette, Creighton To Victory
Late second-half pushes were crucial to Butler, Marquette and Creighton grabbing wins on Tuesday.
No. 18/19 Butler trailed by five points with 9:12 to play at DePaul, but used a 15-4 run to secure its first BIG EAST win, a 77-72 decision. Kellen Dunham led the way for the Bulldogs with a game-high 24 points. Andrew Chrabascz added 16 points. Myke Henry was high for DePaul with 22 points and 10 boards.
Trailing by eight points at No. 8/9 Providence with six minutes left, Marquette rallied for a 65-64 victory. Duane Wilson’s layup with 31 seconds left was the final score of the game. Haanif Cheatham had 16 points and Henry Ellenson added 13 points and 10 boards for MU. Ben Bentil continued his productive play with 28 points and nine rebounds for the Friars. Kris Dunn finished with 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.
Creighton closed its game against Georgetown with a 26-10 run to register a 79-66 home win. Maurice Watson, Jr. scored a career-high 27 points and had a game-high seven rebounds. James Milliken added 12 points. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and freshman Jesse Govan each scored 17 points for the Hoyas. The result left both teams 2-1 in the league standings.
Two games are on Wednesday’s BIG EAST schedule. FS1 will televise both contests. In a battle of 12-2 teams, No. 11/13 Villanova hosts streaking Seton Hall at 7 p.m. ET. The Wildcats are coming off an 85-71 win at Creighton. The Pirates have won seven in a row. The Hall’s Angel Delgado is on a streak of seven straight double-doubles.
No. 10/12 Xavier, 1-1 in the BIG EAST, plays St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. The Musketeers have five players averaging in double figures led by Trevon Bluiett at 14.3 ppg. The Red Storm are looking for their first league win. Freshman Federico Mussini leads the team in scoring with a 12.7 average.