But as has been the trend so far for the Marquette men's basketball team, first-half ineptitude translated into second-half dominance, as the Golden Eagles defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 100-80.,”A typically one-sided rivalry game had the makings of a monumental upset Saturday at the Bradley Center.

But as has been the trend so far for the Marquette men's basketball team, first-half ineptitude translated into second-half dominance, as the Golden Eagles defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 100-80.

Marquette came out on a 9-2 run and looked in complete control until Panthers guard Tone Boyle found his shot. Despite being athletically outmatched by the Marquette guards, the junior transfer continuously sank impossible looking shots.

With 9:51 left in the first half, Boyle hit another 3-pointer to give the Panthers their first lead of the night. The lead never passed three points, however, as the Golden Eagles went into the half with a 45-40 lead.

The close score was somewhat of a surprise as Marquette played a statistically superior first half, committing only four turnovers to UW-Milwaukee's ten and only six fouls to UW-Milwaukee's 13. But led by Boyle, UW-Milwaukee shot 50 percent from the field, including going 4-for-8 from behind the arc. The Golden Eagles shot only 42.9 percent and went 3-for-13 from deep.

"We were just taking one pass and a shot, or getting it to the top of the key and a shot," senior guard Jerel McNeal said. "Once we started getting stops, we started getting layups and wide open, uncontested threes, which are the best ones to shoot and the easiest ones to hit."

Once again, however, the Golden Eagles came out scorching in the second half. A 10-0 run gave Marquette a 15-point lead that it was able to retain for the remainder of the night.

Senior Wesley Matthews continued to display his newfound assertiveness, tying teammate Lazar Hayward with a game-high 25 points. The other usual headliners for Marquette got theirs as well. McNeal and Dominic James combined for 38 points, 10 assists, eight steals and only one turnover, while Hayward pulled down 10 rebounds giving him his second double-double of the season.

The Marquette defense also decided to show up in the second half, holding UW-Milwaukee to just 26.5 percent from the field, despite conceding 40 second-half points.

"This team, we are really good defensively . Buzz is helping all of us play high on the floor, and always having our hands in the passing lane, and just always really being active," Hayward said. "I feel that when we're all playing that way . it will be hard to score on us."

Even with the early scare, the Golden Eagles ended up proving how one-sided of a rivalry this is. With the victory, Marquette is now 36-0 all-time against the Panthers-the second-longest active win streak in Division I basketball.

The win also put the Marquette basketball program over the 1,400-win milestone, but aside from crediting the fans and administration, Williams was uninterested in either mark.

"I'll try to word this the right way; I just want us to get better," Williams said. "I'm grateful that we're 3-0, but what I'm most happy about is I think that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, this afternoon, we got better as a team."

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