Big East Conference Player of the Year Markus Howard poured in 30 points to lead the Marquette Golden Eagles to a 86-54 win over St. John’s in the Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Marquette used a 16-0 second half run to pull away, ending a four game losing streak and beating the Red Storm for the first time in three meetings this season.
The Golden Eagles (24-8) had blown leads in the second half of each of their last four games to close out the regular season.
Shamorie Ponds combined to score 54 points in the two earlier wins against Marquette, but he was held to 13 points on Thursday night.
The Red Storm managed to shoot just 30 percent from the field and 15 percent from three-point distance.
Marquette advances to the Big East semifinals on Friday night against Seton Hall at 8 p.m.