Eagles battle back to grind out victory
NEW YORK - It took a little longer than they wanted, but the Marquette Golden Eagles got a desperately needed victory at the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday night.
Junior guard Markus Howard hit the go-ahead jumper with 54 seconds remaining and freshman Joey Hauser sank two clutch free throws with 18 seconds left in overtime as the Golden Eagles beat Louisville, 77-74, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Howard finished with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting for MU (4-2), which bounced back in the tournament’s third-place game after a second-half collapse against Kansas on Wednesday.
Howard had full confidence in overtime against the Cardinals (3-2).
“We practice it so much, game situations,” Howard said. “In practice, those times are presented to us. So when it came to an overtime setting, I felt us as a team really executed well.
“We really made plays. Joey was outstanding down the stretch.”
Indeed, the freshman forward delivered in two clutch moments. Hauser scored on a tip-in off a Howard miss that tied the game at 68-68 with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
Then Hauser was cool and collected as he hit the crucial free throws in overtime.
“I was pretty confident in myself,” Hauser said. “Free throws are something that we work on every day, that I work on every day. I just tried to treat it like two normal free throws.
“I looked over and saw the bench and how excited they were, and I said
‘I gotta make them for my team.’ “
What about the clutch offensive rebound?
“They switched on a screen so I had a smaller guy on me,” Hauser said. “I knew Markus was going to get to the rim and make a play.
“I had all the confidence that he was going to make it but on that rare chance that he was going to miss, I was going to be there to tip it in for him. It just happened to work out that way.”
Hauser’s ice-cold demeanor was reminiscent of older brother Sam, the junior guard who coolly poured in a team-high 22 points on an efficient 7for-13 shooting.
The clutch plays augmented a solid defensive effort by the Golden Eagles, who held the Cardinals to 26 for 69 shooting (37.7 percent).
“Anytime you play a Chris Mackcoached team, you know it’s going to be a fistfight,” MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “And I mean that in the most respectful way. His kids play hard and they play tough. And we knew that going in.
“We won a game with our defense. And it’s nice to be able to say that.”
MU saw a lot of players deliver on the defensive end. Sophomore big man Theo John had six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Junior wing Sacar Anim was active with seven rebounds and several deflections.
Anim also stayed in front of shifty Louisville guard Christen Cunningham and contested a three-pointer in the waning seconds of overtime.
But the Golden Eagles also got several big plays from Ed Morrow, who became eligible this season after transferring from Nebraska and is still trying to find his role with MU.
He made perhaps the biggest defensive play of the game by stripping Louisville’s V.J. King of the ball underneath the basket with 33 seconds remaining in overtime and MU clinging to a one-point lead.
“I knew at that point in time in the game, when you get in the game you have to make plays,” Morrow said. “And I know you can’t make mistakes, especially when the game is that close and we’re trying to get that win.
“I just came over and made a play. It worked for us, it turned out the way we wanted it to come out.”
All the clutch plays added up to a big victory for MU, which has been searching for its identity early in the season.
“I think our morale has been good,” Wojciechowski said. “Louisville is going to win a lot of games this year. They’re a terrific team, they’re wellcoached and we won a game where the offense didn’t come easy for us.
“And so it was a real growth opportunity for our team.”