Dec. 20, 2008

Box Score

Milwaukee, Wisc. - Marquette's Lazar Hayward scored a career-high 27 points as the 24th-ranked Golden Eagles rode strong first half shooting en route to a 94-77 victory over Western Carolina on Friday night at the Bradley Center.

Marquette shot 63-percent from the floor, including a sizzling 8-or-11, 72.7-percent, from beyond the 3-point arc in the opening 20 minutes to take a 26-point halftime advantage. The lead would balloon to a game-high 31 midway through the second half before the Catamounts rallied, closing the game with a 28-to-14 advantage to provide the final tally.

All told, Western Carolina (5-4) won the second half by nine points, 50-41

Western Carolina, which dropped its second-straight after winning four-consecutive, put four players in double figures led by 17 points, including four 3-pointers from junior Brandon Giles. Junior Brigham Waginger scored all 12 of his points from beyond the 3-point arc on 4-of-7 shooting, while also dishing out a team-high five assists. Red-shirt freshman Harouna Mutombo added a dozen points with four assists and three steals, while freshman Greg Avery tallied 10 off the bench.

Junior Jake Robinson had his string of consecutive double-digit scoring outings snapped at 12 after finishing with six points, coming on a pair of long-range shots.

Marquette (8-2) raced out to a 12-1 lead in the game's first six and a half minutes as the Catamounts struggled to find the range, missing their first seven shots from the field. WCU also committed five turnovers on consecutive possessions aiding the Golden Eagle run.

The Catamounts were able to trim the margin to seven, 12-5, but a 19-to-6 Marquette spurt pushed the lead to 20, 31-11, with the Golden Eagles leading by as many as 27 in the opening half.

After intermission, WCU was able to close to within 22 on back-to-back buckets by sophomore Richie Gordon, and within 21 on a Waginger trey. However, a 12-to-2 Marquette spurt pushed the margin to a game-high 31, 80-49.

Down by 28, 89-61, with six minutes to play, Western put together a 14-to-2 run, trimming the deficit to a second-half low of 16 when Giles was fouled on a 3-pointer and completed the four-point play at the charity stripe with two minutes remaining. However, that was as close as the Catamounts could get as Marquette made 3-of-6 from the free throw line and forced a trio of turnovers to hold WCU at bay.

Hayward was joined in double figures by Jerel McNeal with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, with Golden Eagle leading-scorer, Wesley Matthews chipping in 18 in the win.

WCU was outrebounded for just the third time this season as the Golden Eagles held a 34-to-27 edge on the boards. MU finished the game shooting 53.7-percent (29-of-54) from the floor and 64.7-percent (11-of-17) from long range.

Western Carolina will break for 11 days for the holiday, returning to action on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) at mountain-rival, UNC Asheville. Tip-off is set for 4:00 pm from UNCA's on-campus Justice Center.