No. 10 Marquette Runs Past Sacramento State

Dec. 15, 2007

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Jerel McNeal had 13 points and Lazar Hayward added 12 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 10 Marquette to an 82-51 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday.

After a week off, the Golden Eagles didn't show any letdown following an emotional 81-76 victory at Wisconsin on Nov. 30. Marquette (7-1) opened with a 14-0 run against the Hornets, the first opponent in a five-game home stretch that includes four guaranteed games before the Golden Eagles open Big East play against Providence.

Sacramento State (2-8) lost its 13th straight road game because it had no answer for Marquette's balanced scoring, which included 12 points each from Wesley Matthews and Ousmane Barro, and 10 points from Maurice Acker.

On one play, Matthews snagged an offensive rebound and rifled a pass to Dwight Burke for an easy dunk. A few moments later, Dominic James found Matthews streaking to the basket on a fast break for a reverse layup.

James hit a 3-pointer of his own to make it 14-0, and before the end of the first half Marquette was playing five guards at the same time.

Sacramento State got its first basket just over five minutes in when freshman Vinnie McGhee, the only healthy point guard for the Hornets, hit a 3. McGhee led the Hornets with 15 points, but also had seven turnovers.

Even when things appeared to go right for Sacramento State, something bad happened for the school that has never had a winning season since starting Division I play in 1991.

Justin Eller hit a shot and was fouled during the run, but the points were waved off because the shot clock had incorrectly reset and referees determined it had already expired.

A basket by Hayward made it 28-8 at the midway point of the first half, and it was 46-22 at the break. The Hornets hung around for a little while in the second half, getting within 15 on a driving layup by McGhee.

Sacramento State's only wins this season are over a pair of NAIA Division II schools that are a combined 8-18 coming into play Saturday. Against Division I opponents, the Hornets are 0-8, losing by an average of more than 20 points.