Marquette's shooting fortunes did an about-face in the second half Saturday and the No. 24 Golden Eagles rolled to a 74-55 victory against Presbyterian in Milwaukee.
The teams were tied 26-26 at halftime, largely because Marquette (3-1) struggled to find a shooting groove from anywhere on the court. The Eagles shot just 25 percent (7-of-28) in the opening 20 minutes and missed all nine 3-point shots they launched.
The second half was a much different story. Marquette clicked -- after falling behind by six points -- and shot a toasty 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the floor, sparked by 9-of-16 shooting from 3-point range.
Sam Hauser and Joseph Chartouny each hit three 3-pointers in the second half. Hauser led Marquette with 19 points, and his 3-pointer ignited an 18-3 Eagles' burst over a four-minute span that turned a 43-37 deficit into a 55-46 lead.
Chartouny, who was 6-of-7 from the floor and added 16 points, finished that game-turning run with a bookend 3-pointer.
Adam Flagler led Presbyterian (3-2) with 20 points, 11 in the second half. He connected on 6-of-14 field goals on a day when the Blue Hose shot just 31.1 percent as a team.
In the first period, the Blue Hose stayed close by hitting 5-of-13 shots from outside the arc. They took their first lead of the day at 15-12 when Francois Lewis ended a 6-0 mini-run with a 3-pointer.
Marquette regained the lead with six unanswered points and pulled even by halftime by dominating the glass, 24-13, in the first 20 minutes on the way to a 45-24 edge.
Hauser added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Eagles also recorded 21 assists on their 25 made shots, with Markus Howard leading the way with six and freshman Joey Hauser distributing five to go with 13 points and eight rebounds.
JC Younger scored 12 points for the Blue Hose.
--Field Level Media
Presbyterian | Marquette | |
Adam Flagler 20 | Scoring | Sam Hauser 19 |
Davon Bell 5 | Assists | Markus Howard 6 |
Cory Hightower 5 | Rebounds | Sam Hauser 10 |
Adam Flagler 4 | Free Throws Made | Joey Hauser 8 |
Davon Bell 6 | Steals | Joey Hauser 2 |
Adam Flagler 1 | Blocks | Theo John 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Presbyterian | 55 | 31.1 | 12-29 | 5-9 | 14 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 8 |
Marquette | 74 | 45.5 | 9-25 | 15-18 | 21 | 43 | 4 | 5 | 16 |