Butler’s jumper with 2 seconds left, No. 6 West Virginia stays unbeaten, 63-62 over Marquette

Butler lifts No. 6 West Virginia over Marquette

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Da’Sean Butler’s 20-foot jumper with 2 seconds left lifted No. 6 West Virginia to a 63-62 victory over Marquette on Tuesday night.

West Virginia (11-0, 2-0 Big East) overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute and its lowest point total of the season to improve to its best start since a Jerry West-led team won 14 straight to begin the 1957-58 season.

Devin Ebanks led the Mountaineers with 19 points, while Kevin Jones added 18 and Butler 17.

Lazar Hayward scored 24 points and Darius Johnson-Odom added 14 for Marquette (9-4, 0-1). The Golden Eagles made 10 of 16 3-pointers but had none over the final 9 minutes.

Butler fouled out of a blowout loss at Marquette last season but this time kept the Mountaineers in a game in which they trailed for most of the second half. He scored eight points over the final 12 minutes.

West Virginia blew a 10-point lead over the final minute of regulation against Seton Hall on Saturday but won in overtime.

Hayward’s three-point play started a 10-5 run and Dwight Buycks’ basket with 4:53 left gave Marquette its largest lead of the second half, 59-53.

Marquette led 62-57 after a free throw by Johnson-Odom with 1:02 left, but the Golden Eagles didn’t score again.

After Johnson-Odom missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Ebanks went the length of the court and dunked with 16 seconds left to pull West Virginia within 62-61.

Marquette’s Jimmy Butler missed another 1-and-1 with 11 seconds left and the Mountaineers made him pay.

Butler turned around on the top right side of the key and buried a long jumper with his foot on the 3-point line, prompting a roar from the sellout crowd.

After a timeout, Joe Mazzulla intercepted a long pass at the other end of the court to send the Mountaineers unbeaten into Friday’s showdown at No. 4 Purdue (12-0).

For the third straight game, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins started an all-forward lineup, which averaged 3 inches taller than Marquette’s starters. But height wasn’t an issue for the Golden Eagles.

West Virginia scored the game’s first seven points. But behind seven 3-pointers, Marquette led by as many as seven late in the first half. Ebanks’ 3-pointer at the buzzer cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 37-33.