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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Marquette got back its leading scorer and a little bit of its swagger Saturday with the return of senior point guard Travis Diener from a foot injury.
Diener, who missed three games because of a stress fracture in his left foot, had a team-high 17 points and eight assists for Marquette in its 81-72 victory over Southern Mississippi at the Bradley Center.
He entered the game with 13 minutes left in the first half and helped Marquette (16-6) to grab its third victory in eight games.
"I hadn't been this nervous for a game in a long time," said Diener, who averaged 20.2 points per game before the injury. "Sitting on the bench, I was real nervous."
Mildon Ambres had 21 points and eight rebounds for Southern Mississippi (10-11), which lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Marquette allowed a 66-56 lead to shrink to 66-64 in the final five minutes before Dameon Mason scored on a two-handed dunk and Steve Novak made a 3-pointer while falling backwards to put Marquette ahead 71-64 with 2:58 left.
Marquette made eight of its final nine foul shots and freshman Ryan Amoroso converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to seal the win in the last 3 minutes.
Diener had 13 points and six assists in the second half.
"He's the ultimate student-athlete, a warrior," said Southern Mississippi coach Larry Eustachy. "When you've got him at the end of the game with the ball in his hands, you're not going to lose that kind of game."
Marquette coach Tom Crean said Diener had not received clearance to play until about three hours before the game.
"We didn't expect him to do anything until tomorrow," Crean said. "We knew we weren't going to practice as a team, but he would get on the floor. He just begged and pleaded and manipulated, and any adjective you want to use, that's what he used with his doctors and our trainer to get an opportunity to get a shot at it."
Diener last played in a loss for Marquette against Charlotte, on Jan. 22. He said he participated in a shoot-around and tried running for the first time since he suffered the injury Friday.
"It felt pretty good," Diener said. "I was just trying to get back to help this team out. I didn't want to come back too soon. But it felt real good."
Marquette had five players reach double-figures in points. Novak made four 3-pointers and had 16 points and Mason added 15. Amoroso also had 13 points and Todd Townsend added 11.
Rashaad Carruth and Michael Ford both had 15 points for Southern Mississippi.
Diener did not play in Marquette's losses to Louisville and Alabama-Birmingham and in a two-overtime win over Saint Louis. He was not expected to play against Southern Mississippi, but entered with Marquette ahead, 14-13, after Mason made the first the first of two foul shots.
Marquette took a 46-39 lead four minutes into the second half after Diener and Novak connected on a pair of 3-pointers. Novak made another 3-pointer to put Marquette up 51-41 with 14:48 left.
Southern Mississippi pulled to within 51-47, but Townsend scored five of Marquette's next seven points to give it a 58-49 lead.
Southern Mississippi went on a six-point run that started with a 3-pointer from the right corner by junior Jason Forte to get within 58-56.
Marquette led, 66-56, after Mason scored on a put-back after Diener missed a 3-point try with 6:36 left. Marquette led 31-26 with 3:57 left in the half, but Southern Miss rallied and led 36-34 after Donte Stiggers made a 3-pointer with 1:09 left in the first half.
Junior Joe Chapman had six points. His status for playing had been uncertain after injuring his left knee in the loss to UAB Wednesday.
