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How Sean Jones fought through a shooting slump to help spark Marquette over Creighton
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- How Sean Jones fought through a shooting slump to help spark Marquette over Creighton
Sean Jones ' three-point attempt looked like it was going to bounce away, like so many previous shots this season for the backup guard on Marquette men's basketball team.
But, after hitting the rim, the ball kissed off the glass and fell through the net.
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The basket seemed insignificant, cutting Creighton 's early lead to 14-8. It was also one of the few offensive highlights for MU in a frigid-shooting first half.
BOX SCORE: Marquette 72, Creighton 67
But seeing the ball drop did wonders for Jones . He hit two more big three-pointers in the second half and finished with a college-high 15 points as the 10th-ranked Golden Eagles scrapped for a 72-67 victory over the No. 22 Bluejays on Saturday at Fiserv Forum.
"It just feels really good to be honest," Jones said. "Because the past however many games, the whole season, really, I've been struggling.
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"But I just stayed with the work that I put in every day. And I stayed with the belief that I can make them."
Marquette guard Sean Jones (22) drives along the baseline during the first half of their game against Creighton Saturday, December 30, 2023 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sean Jones battles through slump thanks to teammates
Jones entered the game shooting 4 for 28 (14.3%) on three-pointers. Opponents were playing way off the 5-foot-10 guard and daring him to shoot.
Jones' MU teammates had been helping him maintain his confidence. All-American Tyler Kolek , who suffered through a shooting slump in his first season with the Golden Eagles , has been texting Jones to not get frustrated.
"Honestly, it really carries me more than I can carry myself," Jones said. "It's tough to miss every three. I probably missed ... I don't even know how many in a row before these makes today.
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"It's tough to keep going and keep that confidence in yourself when you're not having the result that you want in the biggest moments, which is in the game. So to have people that can push you, I feel like that is very big and I love him for that."
Jones dropped in back-to-back three-pointers to give MU (10-3, 2-1 Big East) a 52-48 advantage over Creighton (9-3, 0-2) with just under 9 minutes remaining.
Jones' numbers from long range might be unsightly, but he has delivered in clutch moments. He sank a big triple at Illinois and then hit the winning shot from deep in the final minute against UCLA in the Maui Invitational.
"Before the first one to start the second half when I first checked in, (Baylor) Scheierman was playing off me and I had came in for Kam Jones but Kam Jones had subbed back in," Jones said. "He came to me and said 'Look at the rim.' That's all he said, 'Look at the rim' and then he walked away.
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"So as soon as I caught the ball off the zoom, I was open. I looked at the rim and fired it like how I practice every night."
Stevie Mitchell returns from hamstring injury
Stevie Mitchell, back in the starting lineup after missing four games with a hamstring injury, had also been struggling with his shot.
Mitchell was 3 for 20 on three-pointers before sinking 2 of 5 against Creighton.
"You're talking about two guys who work on their games as much as anybody," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "They live in the gym in the off-season and shot the ball well through practice in live play.
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"And, for whatever reason just haven't made shots through our first 13 games. It's a couple different ways to approach it. We choose to approach it by continuing to believe in those guys and encourage those guys to take good shots.
"My message is always take the shot that you're best at from outside. Which, to me, for both those guys is an in-rhythm, step-in three. Sean does as a nice job off the dribble and kind of uses the dribble to get rhythm. That's what he did today, and that's what Stevie did. Those guys went 5 for 10 from three, if they go 1 for 10, 2 for 10, we lose the game."
Mitchell played 19 minutes, and , his typical harassing defense .
"Stevie means the world to the team," Jones said. "Everybody calls Stevie the glue guy, I think that's an understatement.
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"Stew brings a different type of life when he plays for us, whether Stew's shots are falling or not. It feels so great just to have Stew back on the court. You heard the ovation he got when they called his name (during the starting lineup announcements), that's just beautiful."
Marquette forward Ben Gold (12) flips a loose ball to guard Sean Jones (22) during the first half of their game against Creighton Saturday, December 30, 2023 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Shaka Smart praises Golden Eagles ' defense and rebounding
The Golden Eagles needed to do the dirty work to stay in the game after shooting 3 for 20 on three-pointers in the first half.
MU's defense forced 18 turnovers. The Golden Eagles also pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, including nine from Oso Ighodaro, and scored 18 second-chance points.
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"Offensively, obviously far from our best game," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "I actually like a lot of the shots we got.
"We got a lot of shots in the deep paint. We got a lot of threes that were good looks. We didn't take a lot of twos that we don't really like to take. We just didn't make them. Part of that is probably due to be a little overhyped coming into the game, a little overexcited. And part of it is good defense on Creighton's part.
"We have to get better and we will. But the 18 offensive rebounds, including nine from Oso, was absolutely the difference in the game. When you're not making shots, you have to have desperation on the defensive end and on the offensive glass, and that's exactly why were were able to go into halftime only down two as opposed to being down double figures. And that's why we won the game."
Marquette announces record crowd at Fiserv Forum
After Jones' big three-pointers, MU's David Joplin hit two of his own. His second gave the Golden Eagles a 64-59 lead with 2:25 remaining.
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Joplin punctuated his 10-point night by throwing down his first dunk in a MU uniform in the final minute. Ighodaro and Kolek (15 points and eight assists) salted away the victory at the free-throw line.
That pleased the home crowd. MU announced during the game that there were 18,086 fans at Fiserv Forum, a record for a game since the building opened in 2018.
MU has won 20 straight Big East games at home, tying a league record. The Golden Eagles' last loss at Fiserv Forum against a conference foe came on Jan. 1, 2022, when Creighton won in double-overtime.
"We know that Fiserv is home for us and that they bring energy for us that we don't get on the road," Jones said. "We just feel like it is such a difference-maker for us.
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"We love playing here. We love having fans in here all the time. And having big crowds. We love performing for the big crowds. It's such a great feeling for all of us and we don't take it for granted."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette beats Creighton 72-67 at Fiserv Forum in Big East game
