EditorsNote: rewords 13th graf
Creighton's Ty-Shon Alexander had 22 points, and the nation's leading scorer, Markus Howard, was limited to 13 points as the 15th-ranked Bluejays beat No. 19 Marquette 73-65 at Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Creighton (21-6, 10-4 Big East) earned a regular-season series sweep of Marquette (17-8, 7-6). The Bluejays have won eight of their past nine games.
Howard, a senior guard averaging 27.3 points entering the game, went scoreless in the first half, missing three 3-point attempts. He made a 3-pointer on the first shot attempt of the second half to break his scoreless stretch with 19:48 left in regulation.
Howard wound up making 4 of 14 shots from the field and had five assists and four rebounds. His fourth turnover, with 16 seconds left, thwarted Marquette's chance to cut into Creighton's 71-65 lead.
Marquette shot 41 percent as a team, including 24.2 percent (8 of 33) from beyond the arc.
Creighton made 53.6 percent of its shots in the second half, led by Alexander's 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Marcus Zegarowski, who made all four of his shots in the second half, finished with 17 points and five rebounds for the Bluejays. Damien Jefferson added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Marquette was led by Sacar Anim's 18 points. Theo John had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Koby McEwen contributed 10 points and eight assists.
The Bluejays led 32-22 at the break, but that advantage quickly dwindled.
Howard's jumper with 14:38 remaining tied the game at 38, but Creighton scored eight straight points, including 3-pointers by Mitch Ballock and Alexander. Marquette was forced to call timeout, trailing 46-38 with 12:30 remaining.
Creighton's lead increased to 56-43 on a three-point play by Zegarowski with 6:55 left, capping a 7-0 run.
Brendan Bailey answered with a 3-pointer on Marquette's subsequent possession, ending a scoreless stretch of 3:29 for the Golden Eagles.
Marquette cut the deficit to 62-56 with 3:14 remaining after 3-pointers by Bailey and Howard.
Alexander responded with his fourth 3-pointer of the game. He has made at least three treys in seven straight games.
A Howard 3-pointer with 1:49 left cut the gap to 65-60, but the Golden Eagles would not get closer.
--Field Level Media
