MILWAUKEE —Markus Howard scored 21 points and Marquette jumped out to a big lead early and held off UTEP 76-69 on Tuesday night.
Howard, coming off a homecourt record 45-point effort in Marquette's 83-71 victory over No. 12 Kansas State, hit all seven of his free throws and added five assists.
Freshman Joey Hauser scored 15 on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor for the Golden Eagles (7-2), while Sacar Anim pitched in 14 points and six boards. Sam Hauser had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists, but he missed all six of his 3-point attempts as the Golden Eagles made just 18 percent (4 of 22) from distance.
Marquette jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first 7:20 of the game. Freshman Jordan Lathon kept UTEP (3-5) within striking distance in the first half, scoring 15 of his career-high 26 points to pull the Miners within 37-30 at intermission.
Lathon's first points of second half pulled UTEP within 60-56 with 6:56 left to play. Howard followed with a 3-point play and the Golden Eagles stayed in front from there.
The two teams were playing for the second time. Marquette, now 6-0 at home, beat UTEP 77-65 in 1965.
