Marquette Edges USF, 66-64

Box Score

Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 15 ? After fighting relentlessly for the lead during the second half, Todd Townsend came up with a big play for Marquette with 5.2 seconds left that sealed a 66-64 win over USF Saturday night at the Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles improve to 14-2, 2-1 in C-USA while the Bulls fall to 8-6, 1-2 C-USA.

After being down by as many as 11, the Golden Eagles wrestled their way back to take the lead with 4:08 left. Falling behind again by as many as three, Marquette trailed down 64-63 after Marly Bryant made a layup with 23 seconds left. The Golden Eagles called a timeout to set up their offensive set and Travis Diener found an open Townsend under the basket. Townsend was fouled by Solomon Jones as he made the shot, then sank the ensuing foul shot to give Marquette the two-point lead.

?I missed the layup on the play before and (Travis) had the confidence to throw it to me again,? Townsend said. ?Travis is so unselfish to give it to me to finish.?

Diener led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 24, adding seven assists. Townsend and Steve Novak both contributed 10, with Dameon Mason adding nine. Terrance Leather scored 25 points, leading USF.

?I?ve been with Todd for four years now and I expect a lot from Todd and he expects a lot from himself,? Diener said. ?For him to get the big play tonight was one of the happiest moments for me.?

The Golden Eagles were sluggish in the first half, allowing the Bulls to take a 36-25 halftime lead.

?(At halftime) we needed to make some adjustments, some changes to win the game and fortunately our team did that,? coach Tom Crean said. ?Too much in the first half we tried to do too many things by ourselves with out our energy our enthusiasm and our unselfishness.?

Diener started the second half with a steal that he converted into a layup. Diener?s basket sparked the Golden Eagles into action both offensively and defensively. With 14:30 on the clock, Chapman?s inside jumper brought Marquette to within three points, the closest it had gotten since the game's opening minutes.

The Golden Eagle defense sparked a run that brought the team to within two at the 9: 30 mark. After a USF turnover, Ryan Amoroso knocked down a 3-pointer off of a Chapman miss, and after two Bulls turnovers, Mason went to the hoop for a dunk that brought Marquette to within two at 50-48.

After letting the Bulls? lead grow to five, Diener stole a USF pass and fed a breaking Mason whose dunk brought Marquette to within one for the first time. With 5:08 remaining and the score at 57-54, Leather fouled Novak as he was shooting from behind the 3-point line giving him three chances from the free throw line. Novak made all three and the score was tied at 57.

USF would lead one more time before the Golden Eagles took over for the rest of the game.

Marquette?s next game comes on the road against DePaul on Thursday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN2.