Golden Eagles beat Pirates in OT
Howard’s 22 points lead Marquette past Seton Hall
For the second time in as many games against Seton Hall, Marquette failed to close the Pirates out.
Ten days removed from letting a three-point lead turn into a three-point loss in New Jersey, Marquette squandered a sevenpoint lead with 46.1 seconds left on Wednesday night against Seton Hall. Pirates junior guard Khadeen Carrington scored seven of his 22 points in the final 35 seconds, capping the comeback with a jumper with 2.7 seconds left.
But that shot only tied the game.
Marquette got another chance to close out in overtime and the Golden Eagles (11-5, 2-2 Big East) made the most of it, this time holding on for an emotional 89-86 victory at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
“After losing the lead and having to go to overtime, it would have been very easy for our group or many groups not to be able to bounce back because, obviously, it was deflating,” Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “Certainly, the memory of Newark is in our guys’ minds. I was really concerned before overtime started in that huddle that our guys might not be where they needed to be mentally. And I was wrong. They were. Our guys showed great toughness in the overtime period.”
Going into that extra frame it seemed like the odds were stacked against the Golden Eagles. Seton Hall (12-4, 2-2) had momentum on its side and a full complement of players. Meanwhile, two of Marquette’s starters, senior Luke Fischer and freshman Sam Hauser, had already fouled out.
“Just fight, find a way to win,” graduate transfer Katin Reinhardt said. “That was our whole motto there at the end of (regulation).” That’s exactly what they did. Freshman point guard Markus Howard — who had a team-
high 22 points, set a new career high with six assists and didn’t commit a turnover in 42 minutes — got Marquette started with a pair of free throws with 3:57 left in overtime, and the Golden Eagles never relinquished the lead. Howard didn’t score again in overtime, but created the biggest shot by driving from the top of the key to the baseline before rifling a pass to senior Jajuan Johnson for a wide-open corner three that put the Golden Eagles up by four with less than 2 minutes to go.
Most of the other highlights in overtime came from players who came off the bench and provided big minutes. No one stood out more than backup center sophomore Matt Heldt, who took Fischer’s place in the final 33 seconds of regulation.
Heldt drew the task of defending Seton Hall double-double machine Angel Delgado, who finished Wednesday with 14 points and 19 rebounds. He kept Delgado without
a field goal in overtime, grabbing a pair of rebounds and stepping up to take a critical charge that caused Carrington to foul out with 3:06 remaining.
“When he’s on the floor he’s going to give you what he has,” Wojciechowski said. “So I knew whatever he had we were going to get, I just didn’t know he was going to make three or four game, potentially winning, plays.”
After Marquette went 13 for 20 from the freethrow line in regulation and 3 for 6 in the final 40 seconds, Reinhardt made sure free throws wouldn’t be the Golden Eagles’ undoing by making 4 of 4 in the final 30 seconds.
“I dream about it every night,” Reinhardt said. “Growing up, you dream of knocking down free throws to seal the deal and I’m very confident in the way I shoot free throws, so I didn’t have any doubt that I was going to make those.”
The sum of all Marquette’s contributions from up and down the roster was a win that the Golden Eagles needed and a bit of revenge for the game they let slip
away on New Year’s Day.
“It was fun to see the excitement our guys had,” Wojciechowski said. “The loss to Newark was a difficult loss for us. I think everybody in our group felt like we had a great shot to win and we didn’t make the plays. Tonight we found a way to win. It wasn’t always artistic, but they don’t give style points in the Big East standings.”