Birthday boy Jones drops 34 again as No. 7 Marquette rout Xavier

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kam Jones celebrated his 22nd birthday by scoring 34 points for a second straight game and No. 7 Marquette trounced slumping Xavier 88-64 on Sunday.

Jones shot 11 of 17 overall and 6 of 10 on 3-point attempts to match the career-best scoring total he had produced Wednesday in a 105-71 blowout of DePaul. Over his last two games, Jones has shot 23 of 32 from the floor and 14 of 20 from beyond the arc.

Jones is making a habit of performing well on his birthday. The day he turned 21, Jones scored 22 points in a 90-84 victory over DePaul.

Tyler Kolek added 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds to help Marquette (21-6, 12-4 Big East) win for the 10th time in 11 games. Oso Ighodaro had 12 points and David Joplin got 10.

Xavier (13-14, 7-9) lost its fourth straight. Trey Green scored 16 points, Quincy Olivari 14, Dailyn Swain 11 and Dayvion McKnight 10 for the Musketeers.

The first nine minutes of the game featured six ties and four lead changes before Marquette used its defense to take control. The Golden Eagles held Xavier scoreless for a stretch lasting over 5 ½ minutes while turning an 18-16 deficit into a 25-18 lead. Marquette remained in front 36-26 at the half.

After Xavier’s Olivari made a basket to open the second-half scoring, Marquette reeled off 10 straight points to extend the margin to 46-28. Joplin scored the first five points and Jones had the last five during that spurt.

Marquette eventually led by as many as 32.

BIG PICTURE

Xavier: The Musketeers didn't get enough production from their top players. Desmond Claude, who entered the day with 16.1 points per game to rank second on the team, went scoreless and shot 0 for 8 in 27 minutes. Olivari, who was ranked fourth among all Division I players in 3-point percentage (.443), went 2 of 11 from beyond the arc

Marquette: On a day when Marquette honored its 1974 Final Four team in a halftime ceremony, the Golden Eagles showed why they’re capable of making a deep NCAA Tournament run. They also continued their home dominance. Marquette has won 25 of its last 26 Big East home games.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Marquette has a chance to move up a spot by leapfrogging No. 4 Arizona, which has split two games since the last poll came out.

UP NEXT

Xavier: Hosts DePaul on Wednesday.

Marquette: Hosts Providence on Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball