Sam Hauser – Photo Courtesy of Marquette athletics.
The Marquette Golden Eagles lived to play another day at the Big East Tournament, holding off the DePaul Blue Demons 72-69 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Andrew Rowsey poured in a game high 25 points, while Sam Hauser added 16 and Sacar Anim 14 for the Golden Eagles, who advanced to Thursday nights matchup against second-seeded Villanova. The Wildcats are the defending Big East Tournament champions.
Hauser scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half. he hit a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left to put Marquette (19-12, 9-9 Big East) up four before DePaul’s Max Strus hit a three pointer to pull the Blue Demons within one, 70-69.
After Rowsey turned the ball over at midcourt, Strus missed a three pointer that would have given the Blue Demons the lead. Rowsey grabbed the rebound and sank two more free throws to give Marquette the three-point win.
Marquette has now advanced to the Big East quarterfinals in every season since it became a league member in 2005-06. Their matchup with Villanova tips off at 6 p.m. tonight on FS1.