Marquette dominates first half en route to big win over Creighton

Nigel James Jr. had 21 points and Royce Parham added 19 as Marquette used a dominant first half to roll to an 86-62 victory over visiting Creighton in a Big East matchup Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Marquette (8-14, 3-8 Big East) led 52-23 at the half, its largest halftime lead of the season. All eight of the Golden Eagles victories have come at home.

Creighton (12-9, 6-4) has yet to win two consecutive games over its last seven since ending December with four straight victories.

Adrien Stevens added 14 points and Chase Ross 13 for Marquette, which shot 57.6 percent.

Austin Swartz had 17 points and Blake Harper 15 for Creighton, which defeated Marquette 84-63 at home in December.

Creighton pulled within 75-60 on Jasen Green's layin with 2:45 remaining, but Marquette closed with an 11-2 run.

Marquette shot 68.8 percent in the first half, hitting 22 of 32 shots en route to a 29-point lead at the break. The Golden Eagles' previous largest halftime lead was 17 points in an 89-48 rout of Little Rock in mid-November.

Marquette had a 34-8 edge on points in the paint and a 13-4 advantage in fastbreak points before the break.

Creighton's two leading scorers, Josh Dix at 12.8 points per game and Swartz at 11.6, were a combined 2-for-15 in the first half, missing all 10 three-point attempts.

Marquette gained control with an 18-0 run late in the first half, going in front 41-16 on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Michael Phillips II as Creighton went scoreless for more than six minutes.

The Bluejays missed nine consecutive shots, while Marquette hit 8 of 10 shots over that stretch.

James scored on a drive to put Marquette up 19-9 early as Creighton hit just 4 of its first 14 shots, including 1 of 8 beyond the arc.