Men's basketball team downs Delaware State

Dec. 22, 2005

A balanced attack with three Golden Eagles in double figures and solid rebounding were the keys to victory as the Marquette men's basketball team defeated Delaware State, 60-48, at the Bradley Center. Freshman Wesley Matthews led Marquette with 12 points, while freshmen Dominic James and Jerel McNeal added 10 points apiece helping the Golden Eagles to win its third straight and improve to 9-3 overall.

"This was a very good win for us," said head coach Tom Crean. "Delaware State plays with very patient offensive, we had to make defensive adjustments and I think it was I think it was good for us to have to make those adjustments. They are a good team, they know what they are doing and are well coached."

Delaware State's Tracey Worley led all scorers with 16 points and three rebounds, and Aaron Fleetwood added 11 points and four rebounds in the Hornets' effort.

Marquette shot 45.7 percent (21-of-46) for the game, while Delaware State made just 36.4 percent of its attempts (20-of-55). The Golden Eagles grabbed 34 rebounds -- 20 in the final 20 minutes -- winning the battle of the boards, 34-27, led by McNeal and sophomore Ryan Amoroso who each tallied six. Senior Joe Chapman contributed solid play off the bench for the Golden Eagles with eight points, including two buckets from beyond the arc, and two rebounds.

Marquette took a 14-point lead into the locker room while shooting 57.9 percent from the field (11-of-19) led by James and Matthews who each tallied eight points and were 4-of-5 and 2-of-2 respectively from the field. Amoroso, in his third straight start, contributed five points and three rebounds.

The Golden Eagles forced nine Delaware State turnovers while holding the Hornets to shoot just 33.3 percent from the field (9-of-27) in the first half. Worley led the Hornets with nine points and two rebounds at the break.

Senior Steve Novak sank a three pointer in the opening seconds of the game, but Golden Eagle committed four turnovers in four minutes leaving the Hornets to hop on a 7-0 run to lead 19-14 with 6:10 remaining in the first half.

Matthews answered the opposition's run with back-to-back treys and a Novak grabbed a steal leading to a dunk from James taking a 22-19 lead with 4:21 left in the first. The Golden Eagles went into the locker room with a 14 point lead, 35-21, on the heels of a 13-0 run highlighted by another dunk from James and a three-pointer from Novak.

Marquette showed no mercy in the second half and took its largest lead of the game, 23 points (58-35) with 6:10 remaining, with the help of three consecutive treys, two from McNeal and one from Chapman, and a layup from James en route to the 22 point win.

"Our confidence continues to rise and we are constantly improving" added Crean. "I was able to play so many different guys tonight. We are talking better on the floor and will continue to see those improvements. We will take our Christmas break and come back with a lot of energy on Monday."

Marquette returns to action on December 28 for its final home contest of 2005 when it hosts Lewis at 7 p.m. at the Bradley Center.