Saturday, March 09, 2002
Marquette 85, Houston 73
Depth keeps Eagles fresh
By Gary Estwick gestwick@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Early in the first half Friday, Marquette coach Tom Crean subbed players in and out of the Golden Eagles' Conference USA Tournament semifinal against Houston.
Crean's reserves struggled briefly against Houston's hustling starters. As the game continued, though, his mix of fresh players and starters wore down the Cougars.
Marquette took the lead and took control of the game and never relinquished either, winning 85-73 at Firstar Center.
“I think if you're going to win in March, you've got to have good depth,” Crean said. “And you've got to have production from your bench.”
The Golden Eagles (26-5), winners of 15 of their last 17 games, move on to play UC in the conference tournament final today.
Marquette point guard Cordell Henry scored a game-high 27 points. He also went 3-of-5 on 3-pointers. Fellow guard Dwyane Wade added 18 points.
While Henry and Wade's ability to create open shots kept the Golden Eagles ahead, their bench gave them the lead.
Six minutes into the game, with Henry and Wade on the bench, Houston went on an 8-1 run to take its first lead.
That's where Marquette reserves moved into the limelight. Forward Jon Harris helped his team settle down by making a layup and a jump shot. His teammates followed, as the Golden Eagles outscored Houston 27-19 to end the half. Four reserves scored 13 points in the first half (the group finished with 18).
Marquette led by at least eight for the rest of the game.
“Our bench was pretty good,” Crean said. “Real good.”
Houston's lone reserve of the first half, forward Jeremee McGuire, was 0-for-1. Neither of the Cougars' two reserves scored in the game.
Marquette used nine players.
“Whenever you can use your reserves, that's a plus,” Henry said. “They're going to make something happen.”
Louis Truscott led Houston with 20 points. Marcus Oliver, who scored a career-high 25 against Memphis Thursday, scored 19.
HOUSTON (73)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
P Okafor 36 5-7 2-2 1-5 6 2 12
L Truscott 40 7-8 6-11 3-7 1 2 20
B Shelton 36 3-4 0-0 0-1 1 4 8
M Oliver 40 7-14 3-4 1-4 1 1 19
D Smith 38 4-16 4-4 0-3 2 5 14
J Mcguire 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
T Price 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 26-50 15-21 5-20 11 16 73
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.520, FT-.714. 3-Point Goals:
6-13, .462 (B Shelton 2-3, M Oliver 2-4, D
Smith 2-6). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots:
1 (J Mcguire). Turnovers: 9 (P Okafor 2, M
Oliver 2, B Shelton 2, D Smith, J Mcguire, L
Truscott). Steals: 3 (M Oliver 2, P Okafor).
MARQUETTE (85)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
O Blankson 22 3-7 3-4 2-5 1 2 9
S Merritt 21 1-1 0-0 0-3 0 3 2
O Nnamaka 37 3-4 4-4 1-4 2 2 11
C Henry 38 9-16 6-6 0-1 6 1 27
D Wade 25 8-16 2-2 2-3 2 1 18
T Diener 23 3-6 0-1 2-3 2 4 8
D Diggs 11 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 6
J Harris 19 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 3 4
T Sanders 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 31-54 15-17 7-22 13 17 85
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.574, FT-.882. 3-Point Goals:
8-14, .571 (O Blankson 0-1, O Nnamaka 1-1, C
Henry 3-5, D Wade 0-1, T Diener 2-4, D Diggs
2-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 2 (O
Blankson, O Nnamaka). Turnovers: 8 (O
Blankson 2, C Henry 2, S Merritt, O Nnamaka,
D Wade, T Diener). Steals: 1 (O Blankson).
-----------------------------------
HOUSTON 34 39 - 73
MARQUETTE 45 40 - 85
-----------------------------------
Technical fouls: None. A: 0. Officials: Mike
Thibodeaux
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Marquette 85, Houston 73