The flow of a basketball game takes a different amount of time to develop every game. In some instances the flow develops immediately with a rhythm of pass, shoot and score. In other games the flow takes shape at a slower pace where passes are deflected and turnovers interrupt the game speed.

Monday's game followed the pattern of the latter but resulted in an 80-58 victory for the Golden Eagles over Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The two teams combined for 44 turnovers in Marquette's exhibition finale in which the team was out-rebounded 35-33 by the Warhawks, but the difference came in the paint where the Golden Eagles outscored Whitewater 38-14.

"A couple weeks back we really weren't doing a good job of getting the ball in the paint," senior forward Steve Novak said. "Ryan Amoroso really set the tone of getting the ball in the past couple of weeks, and I think a lot of guys bought into it."

Though Amoroso was out due to illness, Novak made his first appearance of the season and contributed immediately after coming off the bench in the first half. He hit 7-of-11 shots from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the three-point line.

"It takes him a while to get back into a rhythm," head coach Tom Crean said. "He did a very good job and played within himself. He was patient and is getting better where he doesn't look to draw contact when he knows he is going to get hit."

Novak might have scored from the outside, but it was junior forward Jamil Lott who handled the post by scoring 14 points.

"I thought what was really nice was (Lott) took his time inside," Crean said. "His shots were right-on. He is really getting better with both hands and learning more about the game."

The Golden Eagles were also able to hold onto their lead in a scoreless stretch that ran from 10:06 left in the second half to 4:48 remaining.

During the stretch Crean chose not to call a time-out, letting his young team play through the period when points were hard to come by.

"I think this weekend and next week we will probably call a timeout, but tonight was a great night to let them play through it," Crean said. "I thought a time-out would have bailed us out."

While the team had to deal with a scoring famine on Monday, the biggest worries for the team came in Thursday's exhibition game versus Michigan Tech when Dominic James went down injured during the second half. The crowd sighed in relief when, with 8:59 left in the second half, James returned to the game after missing time due to cramps.

At one point in Monday night's game, James again became visibly in pain, but stayed in the game for several minutes, and although he was able to grab a steal that initiated a fast break, he was clearly grimacing and hindered by the pain. He was finally replaced by Joe Chapman, but after a short spell on the bench James returned and appeared to be fine.

Aside from those few minutes in Monday's game, James' minor injuries did not seem to affect his ability to contribute. He was second on the team with 15 points in Thursday night's game, helping the team to a 71-66 victory. Despite the win, Marquette had some weaknesses exposed that they will have to fix in order to compete with higher-level teams.

The Golden Eagles recorded 69 deflections against Michigan Tech, but in the process allowed the Huskies to take 32 three-pointers.

"Our guys were helping, but we were over-helping, and they did a great job of using the corners," Crean said. "They were doing what we were supposed to do, if you get beat off the dribble you have to give help, but we have to get better at guarding that dribble."