Freshman Nigel James Jr. hit four free throws in the final minute of overtime to pace Marquette to a 75-72 comeback victory over Valparaiso in a nonconference game Tuesday night in Milwaukee.
Two James foul shots put the Golden Eagles up 73-72 with 33 seconds left. Mark Brown Jr. missed a contested jumper from the free-throw line on Valparaiso’s ensuing possession, and James hit two more from foul shots to make it 75-72 with 16.5 seconds left.
Brown missed a long 3-point attempt in the closing seconds.
Owen Dease hit a 3-pointer to put the Beacons in front 70-69 with 2:01 to go in overtime, but Chase Ross answered with two free throws to put Marquette up 71-70 with 1:21 left.
James had a career-high 21 points, Ben Gold 17 and Ross 16 for Marquette (5-4), which scored eight of its 10 points in the overtime from the free-throw line.
Dease had 17 points, JT Pettigrew added 16 and Rakim Chaney chipped in with 13 for Valparaiso (5-3).
The Beacons converted an offensive rebound into a 3-pointer by Chaney for a 65-59 lead with 3:40 left, but they failed to score the remainder of regulation.
Gold scored underneath to pull Marquette even at 65-all with 55 seconds remaining.
Marquette played for a final shot in regulation, but Ross turned the ball over with two seconds left.
Chaney capped an 8-2 run with a deep 3-pointer to put the Beacons in front 48-42 with 12:03 to go in the second half.
Valparaiso capitalized on Marquette’s offensive struggles for a 27-23 lead at the half.
The Golden Eagles missed 14 consecutive shots before Ross scored on a breakaway lay-in to put Marquette up 16-15.
Dease and Chaney hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Beacons up 25-19 late in the half.
Marquette shot 29% before halftime and was just 1 of 13 beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles stayed close with 12 fastbreak points and scored 11 points off 13 turnovers.
Overall on the night, the Beacons outshot the Golden Eagles 45.2% to 35% from the floor, but Marquette had a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
