After trailing at the half 34-32, Marquette turned up the defensive pressure and pulled away from Utah Valley State for a 66-55 win tonight at the Bradley Center.
With the win, the Golden Eagles improved to 2-0 on the season. Utah Valley State fell to 0-2.
Marquette's win was keyed by a surprising performance from junior big man Dwight Burke who exploded for 12 points and eight rebounds -- easily the best game of his collegiate career. Dominic James led MU with 13 points followed by David Cubillan with a dozen and Lazar Hayward with 11. Hampered by foul trouble, Jerel McNeal was held to just 7 points, though he hauled in eight boards.
Next up for Marquette......a trip to Maui and a game against the Chaminade Silver Swords.
Here's the box score from tonight's game.
AP Photos
Photos from .. my seat
Marquette Recap
Monday, November 12, 2007
Marquette Tops Utah Valley State
Sunday, November 11, 2007
MU hosts Utah Valley State
With the warmth and charm of Maui looming on the horizon, the Marquette Golden Eagles (1-0) will take on the Utah Valley State Wolverines (0-1) at the Bradley Center on Monday night. Tip-off is at 7pm Marquette Standard Time.
The Wolverines stumble into Milwaukee looking to bounce back from an overtime loss at Boise State, 73-72. Junior guard Ryan Toolson led the Wolverines with 29 points, while 6'6" senior forward Jordan Brady added a double-double of 17 and 15. Forward Richard Troyer chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds. The Wolverines made 39% of their threes in the loss.
Utah Valley State is coached by former Ball State head man Dick Hunsaker. The Wolverines had a breakthrough season a year ago, going 22-7 with notable wins over Albany and North Dakota State. The 6'4" Toolson led the team in scoring despite not starting a single game. Toolson poured in 15.5 ppg, connected on an eye-popping 44% from 3-pt territory, and led the nation in free throw shooting (97%). Jimmy Chitwood lives! As a team, the Wolverines made 39% of their three-point attempts last season.
The Golden Eagles will rely on its backcourt as Tom Crean looks to take a perfect record into Maui next week. Jerel McNeal, who rallied Marquette from a sluggish stretch in the second half against IUPUI, will likely draw the defensive assignment on Toolson.
While Marquette's deep and talented backcourt seems to come at opponents in waves, the inside game remains a mystery, as always. Junior Dwight Burke started over Ousmane Barro on Saturday, and delivered a two points and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Barro was not much better, if at all, with three points and seven boards in 22 uninspiring minutes.
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