by MILWAUKEE – Marquette hit all 10 free throw attempts in the final minute after rallying from an eight-point halftime deficit to top St. John’s, 81-75, on Saturday afternoon at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Junior center Luke Fischer scored a game-high 18 points for the Golden Eagles (12-4, 2-2 BIG EAST), but fouled out late in the game after playing 26 minutes. Freshman forward Henry Ellenson added his 10th double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Haanif Cheatham also notched 15 points.
The Red Storm (7-10, 0-4 BIG EAST) was led by Pittsburgh graduate transfer Durand Johnson’s 18 points and also received 13 points from fellow grad student Ron Mvouika.
Marquette returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at No. 11/13 Villanova.
Postgame Notes:
• The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Red Storm took advantage of back-to-back MU turnovers and answered back with seven-straight points – five coming from Ron Mvouika a bucket and 3-pointer.
• MU opened the second half shooting 4-of-4 from the field, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. The early second-half surge was led by Henry Ellenson, who netted seven of the teams’ first 14 points.
• Sandy Cohen’s (Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin) first three-pointer of the game sparked an 8-0 MU run, to help the Golden Eagles retake a 55-53 lead. The lead marked MU’s first since the 11:45 mark of the first half.
• Consecutive Duane Wilson three-pointers helped MU make a 6-0 run, and retake a 63-59 lead. After starting 1-of-6 from long distance, Wilson shot 3-of-3 to start the second half. MU did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game.
• MU finished the game going 5-of-5 from the field, and made each of their last 10 free throw attempts. In total, MU shot 15-of-26 from the field and 15-of-17 from the charity stripe in the second half.
• MU overcame a 10-point first-half deficit, its largest comeback of the season. The Golden Eagles had previously come back from eight-point deficits against Arizona State (11/23/15) and Providence (1/5/16).
