Sometimes, it takes a loss to teach a team a lesson.

Coming off a defeat at the hands of Dayton, its first of the season, the Marquette men's basketball team learned its lesson in time to beat Central Michigan 81-67 Tuesday.

After taking 20 3-pointers against the Flyers in the final round of the Chicago Invitational (making just four), the Golden Eagles showed a renewed commitment to driving the basketball against the Chippewas Tuesday. Marquette scored 36 points in the paint, and drew 29 fouls.

The Golden Eagles took just nine 3-pointers, making four. By contrast, Central Michigan fired 25 threes and only made four.

"It just worked out that way," senior guard Dominic James said. "We just played and learned. We learned from our previous games that we can't settle.we know that we can get better shots."

The Golden Eagles started slowly again, holding just a 19-17 lead with 12:08 left in the first half. But Marquette drew 15 fouls in the half, and held a 17-2 advantage in free throws (making 14) to build a 36-27 lead at halftime.

"That's always a key to the game," James said. "We always want to beat our opponent to the bonus, and we've done a great job of that so far."

A quick 11-4 run to start the second half put Marquette up 49-31 16:04 remaining, and the Golden Eagles would maintain a lead of about 15 for most of the game. Helping to keep the distance were Marquette's 38 free throws in the contest, of which the Golden Eagles made 31.

"Today I think as a team we were all just attacking more and taking open shots because we know the threes are always going to be there," junior forward Lazar Hayward said. "We just waited until they came, instead of looking for them."

Marquette got a balanced scoring effort from its four best players, with guard Wesley Matthews scoring 18 points, James scoring 15 points and guard Jerel McNeal and Hayward adding 14 points each. The Golden Eagles managed to hold a 37-33 advantage in rebounding, despite allowing Central Michigan to grab 18 offensive rebounds.

Marquette's frontcourt didn't provide much help, with senior forward Dwight Burke playing just 17 minutes (offering little more than four rebounds and a garbage-time tip dunk with one minute to play) and sophomore Patrick Hazel never entering the game.

That left the Golden Eagles playing with a small lineup for most of the contest – especially after Hayward fouled out after 29 minutes – and left extra minutes for guards Jimmy Butler (14 minutes), Maurice Acker (13) and David Cubillan (26).

"You play in accordance with how you practice, and (Hazel) didn't earn the right to play," Williams said. "He's helped us in the first six games, and we appreciate that, but he hasn't had good days in practice."

But the Golden Eagles didn't need any more erase the negative feelings of a loss to Dayton as they prepare for a game against in-state rival Wisconsin (6-1) Saturday.

"I'm excited to coach (against Wisconsin). I was just as excited to coach against Central Michigan," Williams said. "I'm glad that I'm still employed here. Wins are hard to get."