Freshman Lewis scores 33, No. 22 Marquette beats Seton Hall

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Justin Lewis scored a career-high 33 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists, and No. 22 Marquette beat Seton Hall 73-63 on Wednesday night.

Lewis, a redshirt freshman coming off Big East Player of the Week honors, was averaging 15.8 points coming into the game for the Golden Eagles (15-6, 7-3 Big East), who have now won seven straight.

Jamir Harris scored 16 points and Jared Rhoden had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Pirates (12-7, 3-6).

Marquette shot 50%, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, in the first half and led 38-21 at the break. The Golden Eagles held Seton Hall to 24% shooting in the first half.

Lewis' emphatic dunk on a pass from Stevie Mitchell made it 61-40 with 9:35 to play. Seton Hall made it closer after that, going on a 16-4 run to cut Marquette's lead to single digits, and the Pirates got within six points twice in the final minute.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper, another freshman, was the only other Marquette player in double figures with 10 points.

BIG PICTURE

Marquette: Picked to finish ninth of 11 teams in the Big East, the Golden Eagles look ready for their toughest slate yet. They are set to face three ranked teams in a row — at No. 17 Providence, home against No. 14 Villanova and at No. 20 UConn. Marquette already has beaten Providence and Villanova.

Seton Hall: After ascending as high as No. 15 in the AP Top 25, the Pirates have struggled recently, losing four of five. Bryce Aiken was averaging 19.5 points in Big East play before suffering a concussion at Marquette on Jan. 15, and the Pirates really need to get him back.

BLOCK PARTY

Ike Obiagu became the Pirates' all-time blocks leader with 169, passing Samuel Dalembert.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

After cracking the rankings for the first time under first-year coach Shaka Smart, the Golden Eagles will keep ascending as long as the winning streak keeps going.

UP NEXT

Marquette: At Providence on Saturday.

Seton Hall: Hosts Georgetown on Tuesday.

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