The Marquette men's basketball team lost a key player when the team announced on Thursday that backup guard Sean Jones suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore hurt his right knee on a fast break late in the Golden Eagles' loss to Butler on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum. The school said Jones will have surgery in the next week.

Jones appeared in every game this season for 11th-ranked MU (11-5, 2-3 Big East), averaging 5.8 points and 2 assists per game.

The speedy guard is one of the Golden Eagles' best defenders, notching 15 steals this season.

Jones had shaken off a shooting slump in recent games. After starting 4 for 28 (14.3%)  from long range, he scored 15 points and knocked in 3 three-pointers in a victory over Creighton on Dec. 30. Jones followed that by sinking both of his three-point attempts in a loss at Seton Hall.

Despite his shooting numbers, Jones showed a penchant for hitting clutch baskets. He hit a three-pointer late in MU's victory at Illinois, and knocked down the winning triple against UCLA in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.

Jones has been snake-bit by injuries in his two seasons with the Golden Eagles. He missed three games with a wrist injury as a freshman. then played the rest of the season with a cast before having surgery in the off-season.

MU's bench had already taken a hit when Chase Ross suffered a left shoulder injury against Seton Hall. Ross will be re-evaluated later this month, meaning he will miss at least a few games.

The injuries to Jones and Ross will likely mean more playing time for freshman guards Tre Norman and Zaide Lowery, who combined for 18 minutes against Butler.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette guard Sean Jones will miss rest of the season after tearing ACL