A balancing act
Five in double figures in Howard’s absence
Marquette has refused to be counted out.
Many college hoops observers wrote off the Golden Eagles after they lost five of six games, but MU has won back-toback matchups after an 85-73 victory over St. John’s on Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Golden Eagles (16-11, 7-8 Big East) still have work to do in their three remaining regular-season games to bolster their NCAA Tournament credentials.
MU will likely need more of the balanced effort that it got against the Red Storm (14-14, 3-12).
The Golden Eagles had five players score in double figures, led by sophomore wing Sam Hauser’ s 24 points.
Senior guard Andrew Rowsey added 19 points while sophomore Sacar Anim and freshmen Jamal Cain and Greg Elliott each added 11.
“Our offensive balance was a big key in us winning the game,” MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said.
“We asked the guys to be aggressive, be players and take what the defense gives you. I think we did that. I thought we shared the ball incredibly well; 22 assists to 12 turnovers was really positive.”
Hauser was especially efficient with
9-of-14 shooting. He shot 5 of 7 on threepointers and scored eight points in the first 4 minutes 21 seconds of the second half as the Golden Eagles pulled away.
“I just had to be aggressive, keep going and going,” Hauser said. “I know my shots are going to fall if I keep shooting.”
St. John’s had its four-game winning streak snapped. Sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds, who torched MU for 44 points on Feb. 10 in New York, finished with 19 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
The Golden Eagles needed a collective effort because they were playing without leading scorer Markus Howard.
The sophomore guard, averaging 21.3 points per game, suffered a right hip contusion Saturday in a hard fall in the first half against Creighton. He was on MU’s bench in street clothes, bouncing up several times to offer encouragement to teammates.
MU started out strong, taking its biggest lead in the first half at 24-13 with 8:32 remaining after two free throws by Elliott.
But the biggest question mark for the Golden Eagles was what player would handle the ball when Rowsey went to the bench.
Rowsey subbed out right after MU took its 11-point lead.
The Golden Eagles immediately turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions on miscues by Elliott and Cain. St. John’s turned those turnovers into 2 three-pointers to erase a big chunk of MU’s lead.
The Red Storm eventually tied the game at 34 on a layup by Bryan Trimble Jr.
But Rowsey hit a free throw and then found Cain in stride for a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the first half to give the Golden Eagles a 38-34 lead at the break.
The Golden Eagles continued the momentum in the second half, building a 48-35 lead and forcing St. John’s coach Chris Mullin to call a timeout at the 15:39 mark after Hauser drained a three.
MU eventually went up 20 when, after a turnover, Rowsey threw a behind-the-back pass to Hauser for a threepointer with 5:04 left.
St. John’s could only cut the lead to 12 in the final minute.
Rowsey finished with eight assists and two turnovers in 38 minutes.
“In the past two games he’s had 16 assists and three turnovers,” Wojciechowski said. “(I’ve said) before our team is at our best when he’s being a distributor first and a scorer second.”
Anim continued his offensive surge. He has scored in double figures in five of MU’s last seven games.
MU also enjoyed strong performances from its freshmen – Cain, Elliott and big man Theo John (seven points and three rebounds).
“Those kids have made great strides as players since the beginning of the year,” Wojciechowski said. “I have confidence in them. They are far from where they are going to be but they are much further along than where they were. All three of them had a significant impact on this game.”
It was the penultimate game for MU at the Bradley Center. The building finale will be March 3 when the Golden Eagles host Creighton to end the regular season.