No. 7 Marquette holds off upset-minded St. Thomas

Oso Ighodaro scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help the No. 7 Marquette Golden Eagles escape with an 84-79 win over the St. Thomas Tommies on Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Kam Jones added 13 points for Marquette (9-2) while Tyler Kolek added a game-high 10 assists. Chase Ross finished with 11 points, including a key 3-pointer in the late stages.

St. Thomas (6-5) was led by Drake Dobbs with 14 points and four assists. Kendall Blue chipped in with 13 points in the loss.

Marquette was able to gain a lead in the first half, going into the break up 45-33 after leading for much of the half. The Golden Eagles shot 63 percent from the floor.

The 12-point deficit would not faze the Tommies, who fought back in the second half to make it competitive.

St. Thomas outscored Marquette in the second half 46-39, shooting 57 percent from the field and holding Marquette to just 37 percent.

In the final minutes, Marquette still had trouble putting away the Tommies. With just over a minute to go, Drake Dobbs knocked down a floater to make it a two-point game.

However, St. Thomas was then forced to intentionally foul, and Kolek capitalized for Marquette at the line. Kolek scored the final six Marquette points, all from the free-throw line.

Down by six, Brooks Allen knocked down a deep 3-pointer to keep the Tommies' hopes alive. Kolek answered with the fifth and sixth free throws of that stretch to seal the victory.

The win wraps up nonconference play for Marquette with a 9-2 record. They'll begin Big East play on Tuesday when they travel to Providence.