Henry Ellenson swatted away Kris Dunn's buzzer-beater, then chased the ball down to give it one big bounce before celebrating Marquette's 65-64 victory over No. 8 Providence.
"There was nothing but laughs and smiles in the locker room afterwards," said Haanif Cheatham, who scored 16 points to lead the Golden Eagles on Tuesday night.
Ellenson had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots — none bigger than the one that denied Dunn's attempted buzzer-beater. It was the first Big East victory in the freshman's career.
"The sky's the limit for him," Marquette coach Steve Wojchiechowski said. "He's a big kid and very mobile. He's got a terrific skill set and I think it's pretty easy for people to see when they walk in the gym."
Duane Wilson scored on a layup with 31 seconds left to give Marquette (11-4, 1-2 Big East) the 65-64 lead. The Golden Eagles avoided opening the conference schedule with three straight losses for the first time since joining the Big East in 2005.
It was the Golden Eagles' second victory over a ranked team this season. They beat then-No. 22 LSU in November.
"I thought our guys showed incredible poise, toughness and fight," Wojchiechowski said. "Really proud to beat an outstanding program."
Ben Bentil scored 28 points, including 14 straight for the Friars in a key second-half run, and added nine rebounds for Providence (14-2, 2-1), which had won eight straight.
Dunn had 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals for the Friars, who had climbed to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1977. But he couldn't find enough space for a clean shot at the buzzer.
"We didn't even get a shot attempt," Providence coach Ed Cooley said. "That's more frustrating than anything."
FAST START
Marquette opened with a 7-0 lead as Providence missed five shots with four turnovers. Dunn finally ended the drought with 15:40 left in the half on a layup. But he didn't score again until he hit a 3-pointer with 4 1-2 minutes left in the first half cut Providence's deficit to 24-17.
The Golden Eagles did not trail until a 16-4 run midway through the second. They scored eight straight points after falling behind 58-50 with 6 minutes left.
"We started the game bad and ended the game bad," Cooley said. "This one's definitely on me. I've got to do a better job of getting my guys prepared."
LATE RALLY
Dunn hit a 3-pointer to give the Friars a 61-58 lead. Providence led 64-61 when Ellenson fed Luke Fischer underneath for a dunk, Bentil missed a layup and Wilson grabbed the rebound to set up his game-winner.
Providence called time out with 24 seconds left and ran the clock down, but became frantic trying to get the ball to Dunn in the closing seconds. He tried to drive, then pulled up but couldn't clear enough space to get off a shot.
As the buzzer sounded, Cooley went onto the court to argue for a foul call, with no success.
"We expected Dunn to take the shot," Cheatham said. "That's not a bad player to take a shot."
STREAKING
The Friars trailed 42-34 with 15 minutes to play before scoring 16 of the next 20 points to take their first lead. Included in that run were 14 straight points from Bentil — three baskets and then eight free throws.
TIP-INS
Marquette: Leads the all-time series 15-6. In Big East play, Marquette is 13-3. The Golden Eagles lead 4-3 in conference games in Providence. ... Marquette won nine in a row, including a victory over Wisconsin, before opening the conference schedule with two losses.
Providence: The Friars were off to their best start since going 15-0 to open the 1964-65 season. ... Ryan Fazekas returned after missing six straight games with mono. ... It's the first time the Friars have ever been the highest-ranked team in the Big East.
UP NEXT
Marquette: hosts St. John's on Saturday.
Providence: visits Creighton on Tuesday.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.