Marquette Downs South Dakota State, 87-52

Dec. 3, 2005

MILWAUKEE - Five Golden Eagles scored in double figures as the Marquette men's basketball team earned a, 87-52, lopsided victory over South Dakota State in front of 11,342 strong at the Bradley Center. Freshman Dominic James led Marquette with 14 points as the Golden Eagles improve to 5-2 on the season while South Dakota State falls to 1-5 overall.

"I thought our guys got off to a great start defensively," head coach Tom Cream said. "We wanted to get our inside game established and we did that. We got back to our basics, and we definitely improved on some things. We are going to take this win with us and get ready for Valparaiso on Wednesday. It's been about four years since we had a margin of victory this big."

The Golden Eagles shot 61 percent from the field (36 of 59) and were 50 percent from beyond the arc (6 of 12). The Jackrabbits shot just 34 percent for the game (17 of 50), a season low for a Marquette opponent, and MU forced a season-high 32 total turnovers.

Along with James 14 points, senior Steve Novak contributed 12 points, Dan Fitzgerald added 11 and freshman Wesley Matthews and sophomore Ousmane Barro each added 10 points apiece. Both Barro and Fitzgerald were perfect from the field hitting all 10 of their combined attempts.

Marquette and South Dakota State were even at the boards with each team posting 29 total. The Golden Eagles were led by freshman Jerel McNeal and senior Joe Chapman who each grabbed five. South Dakota State's Matt Cadwell led all scorers with 22 points and Mohamed Berte led the rebounding effort with eight total.

Thanks to Marquette's stonewall defense which included a combined 11 steals and three blocks from sophomore Ousmane Barro and junior Jamil Lott the Golden Eagles held the South Dakota State with out a field goal for over nine minutes. The Jackrabits only points in those nine minutes of play came from foul shots from Matt Cadwell and Mohamed Berte.

South Dakota State finally earned a tally from the field with a basket from Andre Gilbert with 10:50 left in the first. The Golden Eagles grabbed eight straight points and held as much as a 21-point lead in the first when Barro recorded the first dunk of the game with 7:32 remaining in the first.

Fitzgerald led all scorers in the first with nine points while being perfect from the field (4 of 4), and James contributed eight points, three rebounds and five assists. Novak and Barro each added six points apiece in the first.

The Golden Eagles also forced 17 turnovers, while taking 11 total steals. The Jackrabbits won the battle of the boards in the first grabbing 19 including 12 offensive rebounds compared to 15 from Marquette.

Marquette picked up right where it left out with a 16-5 run extending its lead to 28 points (58-20), with 15:29 remaining in the game. Back-to-back three pointers from Novak and Matthews helped the Golden Eagles take their biggest lead of the game, 42 points (64-24) with 14:05 left.

On Travis Diener appreciation day which included bobbleheads given out to fans, the former Marquette point guard was presented with a comemerative framed photo in a pre-game ceremony that was highlighted by a highlight video of Diener's career at Marquette and a short speech from Diener.

"It was great to have Travis come back and talk to us," said James. He is one of Marquette's greats and he really gave us inspiration in the locker room telling us not to take our time here for granted."

Marquette will return to action on Wednesday, December 6, when it hosts Valparaiso at the Bradley Center at 7 p.m.