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Howard pours in 34 points as Golden Eagles shoot 55%
offense was an efficient machine in a 91-81 victory over Vermont at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles' defense, howe v fensively er, is still undergoing some tinkering.
MU (6-3) shared the ball, racking up 25 assists on 33 made field goals while shooting 55%.
Markus Howard led the Golden Eagles (6-3) with 34 points, shooting 11 of 20. Fellow sophomore Sam Hauser added 17 points.
"We've shot ourselves in the foot of Marquette's (this season) with guys trying to do it themselves and with turnovers, which are never good, at really unfortunate times," MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said.
For the second straight game, Wojciechowski started freshman Greg El-
liott in the backcourt and brought senior Andrew Rowsey off the bench.
Rowsey has struggled to take care of the ball this season, with five games of four or more turnovers while also forcing some shots.
But losing his starting spot for another game seemed to cause Rowsey to take more care of the ball while also being a facilitator. He finished with a career-high 10 assists and scored 13 points.
"I thought Andrew really set the tone for us from a passing standpoint," Wojciechowski said. "For him to have a game where he gets a double-double and has 10 assists with one turnover, he's capable of that. The game, at times, will call for him to do those things. He did it tonight and then it becomes contagious."
Stef Smith led the Catamounts (6-3) with 20 points, including 6-of-6 shooting on three-pointers.
Vermont was able to stay in the game by shooting 13 of 29 (44.8%) from beyond the arc and 28 of 59 (47.5%) overall with MU defenders often losing track of Smith.
"You have to make some tough decisions," Wojciechowski said. "Because they can score inside. (Anthony) Lamb is a really good player. I thought our big guys did a great job on him and when the guards got switched off on him, they did a really good job on him.
"But you got to bring help from somewhere. And the guys who were shooting in the 40s (on three-pointers), we couldn't do them. So we made the adjustment. Hats off to the kid, he had a great game."
Smith shot 5 of 16 on three-pointers in Vermont's first eight games. His previous season high was 14 points.
Lamb, who was averaging a teamhigh 14.9 points per game, finished with 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
Howard started off hot, shooting 5 of 6 (including 3 of 4 on three-pointers) before picking up his second foul with 9:24 remaining in the first half. He sat until halftime.
It was the second straight game that Howard battled early foul trouble. He was whistled for two fouls in the first 44 seconds against Georgia.
The long spell on the bench against the Catamounts didn't cool off Howard. He scored 21 points after halftime on 6-of-14 shooting.
The sophomore has three 30-plus scoring games at MU, including two this season.
Howard finished 6 of 11 on threepointers, but he also continued his torrid shooting from inside the arc. He is 34 of 50 on two-point shots this season.
"Teams have to build their gameplan defense around him and Andrew," said MU junior center Matt Heldt. "So when those guys are hitting it makes it that much harder (on opponents) and opens it up for everyone else. It makes it easier for everyone."