HONOLULU – The Marquette men's basketball team was headed for a belly flop in paradise.

The fourth-ranked Golden Eagles looked out of sorts on offense in the first round of the Maui Invitational, and were trailing by 12 points early in the second against UCLA, the largest deficit MU has faced this season.

MU was careening toward a second-round matchup in the consolation bracket with NCAA Division II Chaminade, not the showing the Golden Eagles wanted in the loaded field.

After a timeout, MU's Oso Ighodaro got the ball on the right side. He beat UCLA defender Berke Buyuktuncel to the baseline, then Ighodaro soared around the hoop to cram home a vicious dunk over the 6-foot-9 Buyuktuncel and the 6-10 Adem Bona.

That dunk sparked a 17-0 run that gave MU the lead, then the Golden Eagles had to scrap and claw for a gritty 71-69 victory at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Box score: Marquette 71, UCLA 69

The win gives MU (4-0) a matchup with No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday.

"I think we just took our time," MU junior forward David Joplin said. "We were more composed, kept telling each other, preaching one play at a time.

"It started on the defensive end. Once we got our stops, got turnovers, then we could play on the other end. So I think just taking our time and getting settled into the game."

David Joplin keeps Marquette's offense afloat

The Bruins (3-1) have lengthy defenders, and MU seemed to settle for long shots over the top of them.

The Golden Eagles shot 5 for 18 (27.8%) on three pointers in the first half. Those 18 attempts made up the bulk of MU’s 31 shots in the opening 20 minutes.

"We were a little bit scattered at times," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "A little bit tight at times."

Joplin was the only consistent contributor on offense, scoring 10 of his team-high 19 points in the first half. He finished 5 for 11 on three-pointers.

"We knew just coming into the game, the way they played, their style with the two bigs, my teammates and coaches just said, 'Hey, it's going to be your day, go out there and just play hard,' " Joplin said. "I got every look I wanted and just made shots.

"I feel like I could have made so much more, being a competitor. But I had a good game."

Sean Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Chase Ross come up big down stretch

That dunk also seemed to awaken Ighodaro. The MU big man had five points and two fouls at halftime.

But he finished with 14 points, including another highlight dunk during the 17 unanswered points that gave MU the lead at 50-45 with 11:05 remaining.

"That's our leader," Joplin said. "That's Oso. When he makes plays like that, everybody's hyped and on to the next play. Let's get a stop."

The Golden Eagles' biggest lead came at 57-50, but the last nine minutes were tension-filled as the Bruins kept punching back.

Smart had to rely on his bench, with Stevie Mitchell continuing his cold shooting start by going 0 for 4 on three-pointers and Kam Jones fouling out with just over four minutes remaining.

Chase Ross, Sean Jones and Ben Gold all came up with crucial plays in crunch time. Ross hit two big layups in the second half, and Gold provided some physicality against UCLA's big guys.

Sean Jones was indispensable, playing his typical harassing defense but also dropping in a shifty layup during MU's 17-0 run.

"That sophomore class has really improved, and that's our way," Smart said. "You know, we say relationships, growth, and victory. Well, we mean it.

"The growth part is incredibly important because we're not bringing in transfers, so our freshmen have to grow up and become sophomores that can go close a game out the way that Sean and Chase did, and Ben was in there a lot at crunch time as well. I thought he did a nice job. WhenUCLA tried to iso him and bring him up into action, he did a really nice job there.

"So those guys are only going to continue to grow, and hopefully, that's a template for future young players and current freshmen to look at because if guys in our program can continue to improve year by year, they're going to put themselves in position to be in the game when it matters."

Smart stayed with Jones in the final minute and the 5-foot-10 guard came up big. With his defender playing way off, Jones coolly drilled a three-pointer that gave MU a 71-69 lead with 36 seconds left.

But the victory wasn't secured yet.

First, Ighodaro knocked the ball away from Bona, prompting UCLA coach Mick Cronin to call a timeout. Then Sean Jones deflected a pass out of bounds with 8.8 seconds on the clock.

UCLA's Lazar Stefanovic missed a good look at a three-pointer, but teammate Sebastian Mack grabbed the rebound. Mack, who scored 25 points, tried to drive the ball but Ighodaro forced Mack to take a wild shot that missed at the buzzer.

"We work on that," Joplin said. "We work on just keep playing, no matter what happens.

"They shot it, they got an o-board, keep playing, just keep flying around. So it was nothing new to us."

The sizable Marquette contingent that made the trip to Hawaii, which included program legend Dwyane Wade sitting courtside, erupted in cheers.

Bring on No. 1 Kansas.

"It's special," Joplin said. "Two top-five teams. It's elite basketball. It's what you dream of.

"I think being in this position is what we work so hard for in the off-season since I got here."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette beats Kansas in Maui Invitational; No. 1 Kansas next