The Marquette Golden Eagles are still undefeated in the 2023-24 college basketball season after the Big East squad took down the UCLA Bruins in a Maui Invitational quarterfinal matchup in Honolulu Monday, 71-69. The hero for Marquette basketball in that contest was no other than sophomore guard Sean Jones, who drained the go-ahead game-winning 3-pointer near the end of regulation.
“Nothing less than amazing… We grind hard, every single day,” Jones told Andy Katz of his shot following the win that has the Golden Eagles improving to 4-0 overall.
The Bruins looked as though they were going to grab the win when Adem Bona made a shot to put UCLA ahead with just a little under a minute remaining in the second half, but Marquette kept its poise and moved the ball around before Jones knocked down the dagger trey.
Sean Jones sends Marquette to semifinals of 2023 Maui Invitational
Jones was 0-for-4 from behind the arc before that triple, which played a big factor in why UCLA sagged off of him defensively during that particular play. Needless to say, Jones made the Bruins pay by sinking the biggest shot of the contest. He finished with five points, two rebounds, and an assist. David Joplin led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, while Oso Ighodaro and Kam Jones had 14 and 12 points, respectively.
With that victory, Marquette clinched a ticket to the semifinals round of the tournament where they will be facing No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks this Tuesday. The other semifinal matchup is going to be between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Purdue Boilermakers.
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