Big Three lead the way in Maui opener
Marquette’s 94-83 victory over VCU in the first round of the Maui Jim Invitational was no day at the beach.
The Golden Eagles had to survive the relentless pressure defense of the Rams and also couldn’t let their guard down against an opponent that wouldn’t give up the fight at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii.
“We beat an outstanding basketball team,” MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “They put incredible pressure on you for 40 minutes.”
The Golden Eagles (2-1) won’t have much time to savor its hard-fought victory, with a matchup looming Tuesday (12:30 p.m. Milwaukee time) against Wichita State. The Shockers are No. 6 in
the USA Today coaches poll.
Against VCU (2-2), the Golden Eagles’ offense was again led by its Big Three.
Senior guard Andrew Rowsey carried the load in the first half with 15 points and was also a steady hand against the Rams’ full-court pressure despite two turnovers. He finished with 20 points, making all nine of his free-throw attempts.
In the second half, sophomores Markus Howard and Sam Hauser took over. The duo shot just 3 of 11 in the first half, with Howard missing all four of his three-point attempts. After the break, they combined for 35 points on 13-for-22 shooting.
The game got off to a ragged start, with the early morning (Hawaii time) start coupled with the fast pace forced by the Rams’ full-court pressure. MU had 10 turnovers in the first half, while VCU coughed the ball up 11 times.
The Golden Eagles were able to limit their turnovers to seven in the second half. They also found an edge on offensive glass, pulling down 15 rebounds that led to 22 second-chance points.
Every MU player who logged minutes against VCU had at least one offensive rebound.
Eight of Howard’s 22 points, including 2 three-pointers, came after MU crashed the offensive boards. Howard also added seven assists and six rebounds, finding ways to affect the game despite his cold-shooting start.
“I missed a couple shots and I can’t really even think about it. I have to move on to the next play,” Howard said. “My coaches really helped me in that aspect, learning and drawing from that. Just knowing there are a lot of games to be played, so not really getting caught up on it.”
He finished 4 of 13 on three-pointers. Two of his makes from deep came during an 8-0 MU run after VCU had tied the game at 51-51. That gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. But the Rams never let MU’s lead get to double digits until Hauser hit two free throws with 25 seconds remaining.
Hauser scored 17 of his 20 points after halftime. He also led MU with nine rebounds, five on the offensive glass.
“We won the game because of our offensive rebounds,” Wojciechowski said. “When we do get offensive rebounds, a lot of times just because we don’t have great size inside, it’s not necessarily going to be a putback, but we want to try to get threes . ... We were able to do that today.”