The Marquette Golden Eagles pulled out a thrilling 96-91 double-overtime win over Providence, securing a regular season sweep over the 20th ranked Friars. Providence has dropped three straight and remains winless in Milwaukee in their last ten meetings.
Marquette (16-9, 5-7 Big East) led by as many as nine in the second half and held a 66-59 advantage with just over four-minutes left in regulation. But the Friars came charging back and took a lead with 1:21 left to play. The Friars led 72-70 with 33 seconds to play, but Marquette’s Traci Carter’s driving layup tied it and Providence turned it over with two seconds to play which sent the game to its first overtime.
Marquette led again in overtime before the Friars came back to force a second overtime. This time, the Golden Eagles would build a lead and not surrender it.
Henry Ellenson had 26 points and 16 rebounds to lead Marquette. Jujuan Johnson added 16 points, including five in the second overtime.
Ben Bentil had 42 points to lead all scorers for Providence.
It was a crucial win for Marquette, which needs to finish the Big East campaign strong to have a chance to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.