Golden Eagles defeated by Wisconsin, 77-63

Dec. 10, 2005

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Steve Novak had 14 points and Dominic James added 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but it wasn't enough as Marquette fell to Wisconsin, 77-63, at the Kohl Center on Saturday. Kammron Taylor scored 18 points and Ray Nixon added 15 for the Badgers.

UW used a 23-10 run late in the first half to take a 44-31 lead into the locker room.

The Golden Eagles (6-3) took a 21-19 lead on sophomore forward Ryan Amoroso's layup at the 9:19 mark, and built a 23-19 lead on Chris Grimm's putback with 8:14 remaining.

But the Badgers rallied with a jump shot and a 3-pointer from Tucker, then regained the lead for good at 26-25 lead on Nixon's layup. The Badgers outscored the Golden Eagles 18-6 for the rest of the half and took a 13-point cushion into halftime despite playing the last six minutes without Tucker, who went to the bench with his second foul with 6:08 remaining.

Marquette drew within 11 points on a 3-pointer from senior guard Joe Chapman with 3: 55 left in the game, but the Badgers drew away on five straight points from junior forward Jason Chappell, who also grabbed nine rebounds.

Marquette coach Tom Crean said his players lost their intensity at the end of the first half and didn't communicate well on defense.

"We lost our aggressiveness defensively," Crean said. "We didn't have any ball pressure. We gave them layups and we settled for jump shots."

Marquette returns to action on Saturday, December 17, when they host San Francisco at the Bradley Center. Game time is Noon.