MU 74, St. John's 45 (Big East Tournament)
Mar. 11, 2009 3:52 p.m.
New York -- The Marquette Golden Eagles are back on track.
Thanks to 20 points and nine rebounds from Wesley Matthews, 17 points and nine rebounds from Lazar Hayward, and a smothering defensive effort, MU blew out St. John's, 74-45, in a second-round matchup at the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (24-8), who won their first game since losing Dominic James to a broken foot on Feb. 25, led from start to finish and were up by as many as 38 points in the second half before calling off the dogs.
The 13th-seeded Red Storm (16-17) shot just 13.6% and set a tournament record by scoring just 10 points in the first half. The Golden Eagles shot 49.1% for the game.
MU also out-rebounded St. John's, 41-22, with 17 coming on the offensive end and leading to 20 points.
Also crucial in the victory was coach Buzz Williams' ability to rest Jerel McNeal (26 minutes, 11 points) and Matthews (31 minutes).
Jimmy Butler had another solid game off the bench, contributing 11 points while hitting all four of his shots and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
Paris Horne had 15 points and D.J. Kennedy 11 for the Red Storm.
The Golden Eagles now take on the fourth-seeded Villanova Wildcats (25-6) in a quarterfinal matchup at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Villanova, ranked 10th, was one of three repeat opponents for MU this season. The teams split, with each winning at home.
MU allowed Villanova to shoot 58.7% overall and 54.2% from three-point range as the Wildcats notched a 102-84 victory on Feb. 10.
Five players scored in double figures for Villanova, led by Scottie Reynolds' and Corey Fisher's 21 off the bench.
The Wildcats had a bye through the first two rounds.
Here's our Big East Tournament scoreboard. (http://jsonline.stats.com/cbk/scoreboards.asp?conf=102)
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