MU blown out at Pittsburgh
Written by: noreply@blogger.com (Tim Blair)
After hanging with the 3rd/4th ranked Pittsburgh for 32 minutes on Wednesday night, Marquette had nothing left down the stretch. The Panthers ripped off a frenzied 18-0 run to blow the game open en route to a 90-75 win over MU.
Early in the second half the Golden Eagles gave fans hope with a 21 - 5 run which turned a seven-point halftime deficit into a 57-48 lead with 16 minutes to play. Marquette traded punches with the Panthers for the next seven minutes before the roof caved in on the road.
Jerel McNeal led Marquette with 23 points on 8-24 shooting. Lazar Hayward finished with 22 points and 10 boards. Wesley Matthews, who simply does not not attempt enough shots, finished with 16 points on 5-11 from the field.
The Panthers' big three of DeJuan Blair, Sam Young and Levance Fields combined for 58 points on the night. Pittsburgh connected on 63% of their field goal attempts tonight, a season-worst defensive performance from MU.
The loss is Marquette's third in a row. The Golden Eagles are now 23-7 overall and 12-5 in the BIG EAST.
Next up for MU is the season finale, Senior Night on Saturday against Syracuse.
AP Box Score (http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=290630221)
Rosiak's blog (http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/40764817.html)
AP recap (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030409aaa.html)
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2009/03/blown-out.html