CHARLESTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Marquette and Creighton posted victories on neutral floors, while Georgetown registered a home win on a three-game Friday in BIG EAST play.
Marquette came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat West Virginia 82-71 and advance to the championship game of the Charleston Classic. The Golden Eagles (5-0) made 8-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second half. Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones of Marquette each made four 3-pointers. Kolek finished with 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Jones had 12 points. Marquette plays St. Bonaventure Sunday night for the tournament championship.
In the Paradise Jam, Creighton started fast against Brown and posted a 78-57 victory. The Bluejays (4-0) started the game with a 26-10 run. Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 19 points to pace five players in double figures. Creighton has started 4-0 for the sixth time in coach Greg McDermott’s 12 seasons. The Bluejays play Colorado State in the second round on Sunday.
Georgetown improved to 2-1 with an 83-65 win against Siena. Hoya grad student Kaiden Rice made 7-of-10 from 3-point range and finished with a team-high 23 points. Backcourt partner Donald Carey added 20 points and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Hoyas shot 12-of-18 from 3-point range.
The November 20 schedule calls for four games involving BIG EAST basketball teams. At noon ET, Connecticut hosts Binghamton on FS1. The 23rd ranked Huskies will be aiming to improve on their 3-0 mark. No. 5 Villanova battles No. 17 Tennessee in the Hall of Fame Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena. ESPNews will televise the contest at 1 p.m.
FS2 has a doubleheader that starts at 6 p.m. with St. John’s trying to bounce back from Wednesday’s close loss at Indiana. The Johnnies host Fairleigh Dickinson at 6 p.m. on FS2. At 8 p.m., DePaul is back in action quickly after Thursday’s win against Rutgers. The Blue Demons (3-0) host Western Illinois.
BIG EAST teams own a collective 34-4 record going into Saturday’s schedule.