Lewis leads way in No. 24 Marquette's win over No. 12 Villanova

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Justin Lewis had 19 points and nine rebounds, and No. 24 Marquette never trailed in an 83-73 victory over No. 12 Villanova on Wednesday night.

Marquette (16-7, 8-4 Big East) won for the eighth time in nine games and completed its first regular-season sweep of Villanova (16-6, 9-3) since 2011-12. The Golden Eagles won 57-54 at Villanova on Jan. 19 to snap the Wildcats’ 29-game winning streak on campus.

Those two losses to Marquette represent Villanova’s only defeats in its last 11 games.

It marks the first time any Big East team has swept a regular-season series from Villanova since Butler did it in 2016-17.

The first Marquette-Villanova matchup was decided by Lewis’ tiebreaking 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left. This time, the Golden Eagles didn’t need to rely on any big shots in the closing seconds.

Marquette guard Tyler Kolek scored 18 points and Darryl Morsell added 15 before fouling out. Villanova got 18 points from Brandon Slater, 16 from Collin Gillespie, 15 from Caleb Daniels and 10 from Jermaine Samuels.

Villanova rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to get within three midway through the second half, but Morsell sparked a surge that got Marquette’s lead back to double digits

After Gillespie missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied it with 9:19 remaining, Morsell was personally responsible for an 8-0 Marquette run. He made four baskets and blocked a shot in less than 2½ minutes to extend the lead to 11.

Morsell’s first basket during that stretch ended a Golden Eagles scoring drought that had lasted nearly five minutes.

Marquette's lead didn't drop below seven the rest of the way.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

Marquette grabbed control early by turning its biggest weakness into a strength.

The Golden Eagles entered Wednesday having been outrebounded by 3.8 boards per game. They were outscored 22-1 in second-chance points Sunday in a 65-63 loss at No. 15 Providence, which scored the winning points by converting an offensive rebound into a three-point play.

But they dominated Villanova on the boards early on. They outrebounded Villanova 18-9 and had a 9-3 edge in second-chance points over the first 20 minutes.

Marquette ended up with a 35-27 rebounding advantage and a 12-11 lead in second-chance points.

MOMENTUM SWING

Villanova went on an 8-0 first-half run that culminated with a 3-pointer by Slater, who received a technical foul shortly after making the shot that cut Marquette’s lead to 30-27. Marquette scored the next 11 points, with nine of them coming from Kolek.

BIG PICTURE

Villanova: The Wildcats did a nice job of clawing back early in the second half, but their shooting woes prevented them from completing the comeback. Villanova missed 12 of its first 13 3-point attempts in the second half.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles continue to show they can compete with just about anyone in the country. This marks the fifth time in six games Marquette faced a team ranked in the Top 25 at the time. Marquette has gone 5-1 during that stretch. The Golden Eagles are 6-5 against Top 25 teams this season, with the six wins a school record.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The win assures Marquette will stay in the Top 25 next week and could make it up to the top 20. Villanova shouldn't fall too far after losing on the road to a ranked team.

UP NEXT

Villanova: Hosts No. 17 UConn on Saturday.

Marquette: At UConn next Tuesday.

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