PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Steve Wojciechowski knows his team is lucky to leave Providence with a victory, but it's one he's certainly happy to have.

After blowing an early 12-point lead and trailing by eight with 6:33 to go, Marquette scored 15 of the final 21 points -- including redshirt sophomore guard Duane Wilson's go-ahead layup with 31 seconds left -- to pull off a stunning 65-64 upset of No. 8 Providence on Tuesday.

"For our young team, starting three freshmen, to come in here off of a couple tough losses, (I'm) very proud of our guys," said Wojciechowski, who is in his second season as Golden Eagles coach.

Marquette (11-4, 1-2 Big East) suffered back-to-back losses against Seton Hall and Georgetown to open Big East play and was in danger of starting the conference slate with a third consecutive loss for the first time since 1998-99.

Instead, the Golden Eagles played for one another, something the team agreed to do in a postgame meeting after their 80-70 loss to Georgetown on Jan. 2.

"We told each other, 'We've done it before. We've played hard before. We've played together before,'" said freshman guard Haanif Cheatham, who scored a team-high 16 points.

"It was time to get back to our ways. When Providence went on that run, we could've quit and gave up, but all we thought about was each other, having each other's backs, and we just continued to fight throughout the whole game."

Providence junior guard Kris Dunn hit a 3-pointer with 12:21 remaining to cap a 20-14 Friars' surge that tied the game at 44.

Sophomore forward Ben Bentil's lay-in with 10:30 to play gave Providence its first lead at 48-46, and his alley-oop dunk on the following possession jolted the jam-packed Dunkin Donuts Center crowd and made it a four-point game.

Bentil's free throw at 6:33 gave the Friars their biggest lead at 58-50, but six consecutive free throws for the Golden Eagles brought them within two, and junior guard Jajuan Johnson's layup tied it with3:53 left.

Dunn's 3-pointer at 2:58 and a Bentil layup at 2:07 gave the Friars a brief three-point lead before junior center Luke Fischer's dunk pulled Marquette within 64-63 with 1:15 on the clock.

After Wilson's go-ahead bucket, the Friars set up a play to get the ball to Dunn, who had his last-second shot blocked by Golden Eagles freshman forward Henry Ellenson.

"We debated a little bit between going back to man or zone, but zone is what got us to that point so we decided to stick with it," Wojciechowski said.

"Switching to zone was a key to us winning."

Bentil totaled 28 points and nine rebounds while Dunn had 20 points, seven assists and five steals for Providence (14-2, 2-1), which had its eight-game winning streak snapped.

"Is it disappointing to lose? Absolutely," Friars coach Ed Cooley said. "We lost to a good basketball team, but there's a lot of basketball left to be played. It's disappointing to lose at home, but at the same time it's a learning experience for the guys."

Ellenson, who recorded his ninth career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and also blocked four shots, sparked a 7-0 run to open the game and scored nine of Marquette's first 24 points as the Golden Eagles opened a 12-point lead with 7:07 to go in the first half.

Dunn, who had the Friars' first basket on a layup more than four minutes in, scored eight of his 10 first-half points during a 10-6 run to end the half, bringing Providence within 30-24 at intermission.

Ellenson had 11 points at the half for Marquette, which shot 52.2 percent from the field in the period.

NOTES: Marquette had won 10 straight over Providence before dropping two of the last three entering Tuesday's game. ... The Golden Eagles snapped a 15-game losing streak against AP Top 25 opponents with an 81-80 victory over then-No. 22 LSU on Nov. 23. ... Friars junior G Kris Dunn was named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Jan. 5 and Big East Player of the Week on Jan. 4. He averaged 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals in wins over No. 9 Butler and St. John's. ... Marquette led the Big East in assists (17.6) and steals (8.6) entering the game. ... Golden Eagles F Henry Ellenson ranked 11th in scoring (16.2 points) and third in rebounding (9.9) among Division I freshman through Sunday. ... Marquette hosts St. John's on Saturday. Providence visits Creighton on Jan. 12.