David Joplin had a career-high 30 points and opened overtime with back-to-back 3-pointers as No. 7 Marquette escaped Chicago with an 85-83 Big East victory over DePaul on Tuesday night.
Joplin made 7 of 13 3-point attempts, none bigger than those two to begin the extra session, where the Golden Eagles (15-2, 6-0 Big East) scored 12 of the first 14 points, then hung on to win their sixth straight game. Kam Jones posted 18 points and 11 assists on the night, and his free throw with five seconds to go in overtime put Marquette up by two.
Jacob Meyer proceeded to turn the ball over with one second left for the Blue Demons.
CJ Gunn scored 21 points and Isaiah Rivera sank four threes in a 43-second span in overtime and finished with 20 points for DePaul (9-9, 0-7), which trailed 79-69 in the extra period before surging back. However, the Blue Demons still managed to drop their fifth straight game overall and their 39th consecutive Big East regular-season contest.
Ben Gold’s dunk in transition put Marquette ahead 61-60 with 2:05 left in regulation. But DePaul’s Conor Enright (11 points, 11 assists) knocked down a 3 and made two free throws for a 65-61 lead. The Golden Eagles then got a triple from Jones and Chase Ross’ trey with six seconds remaining for a 67-65 edge.
Gold was called for goaltending on Enright’s drive to the basket with three seconds left, making it 67-67 and forcing overtime.
Marquette trailed 40-39 at the break, but the Golden Eagles later scored seven straight points to lead 48-46.
A Gunn 3-pointer later capped the 7-0 run that gave DePaul a 53-48 lead with 11:14 remaining in the second half. Marquette again answered, with Joplin knocking down a triple and Jones converting a layup to tie the contest.
The Golden Eagles led by as many as 11 in the first half, which the Blue Demons finished strong for the one-point edge at intermission.
–Field Level Media
