One of Steve Wojciechowski’s most commonly used adages throughout his inaugural season has revolved around fighting. Putting up a strong effort while combating adversity has characterized his team in a lackluster season. Sunday afternoon was no exception as the Golden Eagles fought hard once more in a 77-66 loss to the 25th-ranked Providence Friars.

Marquette (11-7, 3-13) appeared to be left for dead early in the second half when they were down by as many as 24 points with 14 minutes to go in the game. Twelve minutes later, the Golden Eagles fought back with a 36-17 rally to trim the lead to just five points.

That was the closest Marquette would get, however. Marquette sputtered in the final two minutes of the game and Providence (20-9, 10-6) closed the game with six unanswered points to secure the victory.

Duane Wilson led the Golden Eagles with 22 points and Matt Carlino added 21 points. Wilson had the far more efficient performance, going 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Derrick Wilson and Luke Fischer chimed in with six points. Fischer fouled out late in the second half.

Providence was sparked by the Big East’s leading scorer, LaDontae Henton, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds. Kris Dunn stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Marquette led for most of the first half before the Friars stormed back in the closing minutes of the first half and early portion of the second stanza. The Golden Eagles were dominated 45-25 on the glass and surrendered 19 offensive rebounds.

The Golden Eagles will be playing for pride with two home games to close out Big East play. Marquette welcomes St. John’s to Milwaukee Wednesday night, then close out the regular season at the BMO Harris Bradley Center against DePaul.