ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Darius Johnson-Odom scored 20 points and Jae Crowder had a tiebreaking dunk with 1:09 left, leading No. 16 Marquette to a 59-57 victory over Norfolk State in the Paradise Jam championship game Monday night.
The Golden Eagles (5-0) never trailed and Johnson-Odom was selected tournament MVP after he scored at least 20 points in each game.
Crowder sparked a 10-2 run for Marquette with consecutive 3-pointers. The surge lifted the Golden Eagles to a 47-33 lead with 11:40 left, but Norfolk State (3-2) would not go quietly. The Spartans countered with two separate 7-0 spurts and tied it at 57 on a 3 by Pendarvis Williams with 2:03 remaining.
The dunk by Crowder put Marquette back in front but Johnson-Odom missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 30 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Norfolk State’s Kyle O’Quinn with about 8 seconds to go rimmed out, and Marquette grabbed the rebound and held on.
