Vander Blue scored a career-best 26 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 19 Marquette shook off a slow start to rout Winthrop 95-73 in the opening round of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday.

The Golden Eagles (3-0) will face Mississippi, a 63-59 winner over Drake, in Sunday's semifinals.

Marquette took control of a close game when Blue ended the first half with a four-point play and Darius Johnson-Odom hit a 3-pointer only three seconds after the break. The Golden Eagles later scored 12 unanswered points, holding the Eagles (0-3) scoreless for more than five minutes, to stretch their lead to 68-47 with 9:51 to go.

Johnson-Odom finished with 20 points as Marquette shot 58.5 percent from the field. Blue and Johnson-Odom combined to make 18 of 25 foul shots.

Andre Jones paced Winthrop with a game-high 29 points.