Xavier 86, Marquette 79: Semaj Christon scored a career-high 28 points as the Musketeers held off the Golden Eagles to remain undefeated in the Big East.

Justin Martin added 15 points and eight rebounds and Dee Davis had 13 points and six assists for Xavier (13-3, 3-0 Big East), which has won eight straight. James Farr added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting off the bench as the Musketeers shot 52.2 percent.

Davante Gardner scored 19 points to lead Marquette (9-7, 1-2). Jake Thomas hit five 3-pointers en route to 17 points and Deonte Burton scored 13 points off the bench for the Golden Eagles, who were crushed on the boards 39-20.

Marquette came all the way back from a 12-point deficit to tie it, but Christon would not let Xavier surrender the lead, knocking down two straight 3-pointers to spread it back out to 75-69 with just over three minutes left. The Golden Eagles got it back down to a one-possession game, but the Musketeers hit 7-of-10 free throws in the final 44 seconds to close it out.

Christon scored 17 points in the first half, including 11 in the final six minutes as Xavier ended the period on an 18-8 run to grab a 40-34 lead at the break. Marquette trailed 54-43 with just over 14 minutes left before John Dawson and Thomas knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to cap an 8-0 burst and help the Golden Eagles chip away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Marquette entered the contest allowing an average of 61.5 points. … Xavier attempted 41 free throws while the Golden Eagles attempted only 13. … Christon has reached the 20-point plateau in two straight games after averaging 9.8 points in the previous four.