SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody destroys Marquette. The 6-foot-8, 251-pound junior has averaged 25.3 points in his last three regular-season games against the Golden Eagles.

But Marquette seems to have a decent handle on his supporting cast, and despite 29 points from Harangody, the Golden Eagles beat the Fighting Irish 71-64 Monday night.

The win kept Marquette (18-2, 7-0 Big East) perfect in conference play while Notre Dame (12-7, 3-5) suffered its fourth-straight conference loss. After winning 45 consecutive home games, the Fighting Irish have now lost two straight at the Joyce Center (falling 69-61 to Connecticut Saturday).

"We wanted this to be a battle of wills and toughness and loose balls and scrums," guard Dominic James said. "Luke (Harangody) is a competitor, he hit some unbelievable shots … we stayed poised and stayed within ourselves. We knew that he was hitting tough shots, and he wasn't going to hit them all night."

Last season, when the Golden Eagles traveled to Notre Dame, they found themselves in a 46-36 halftime hole before losing 86-83. They dug no such ditch this time, earning a 33-30 lead at the break.

But the Irish came back, and took a 43-42 lead on a 3-pointer from Jonathan Peoples with 13:14 left in the half. They expanded that advantage to 45-42 on a jumper by Harangody and to 48-44 on another three from Peoples three minutes later.

Then the Golden Eagles created a little breathing room, starting a 12-5 run with 3:37 remaining that culminated with a fast break lay-up from James. That gave Marquette a seven-point lead, the eventual final margin of victory.

"I think when you play in a hostile environment, against two prolific scorers, it changes what you have to do defensively," coach Buzz Williams said. "I thought we were much better in the second half in terms of our defensive character."

The Golden Eagles were content to let Harangody run wild, and he obliged by scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds in the first half alone.

Still, Notre Dame managed just 35 points (on 12-of-44 shooting) from players other than Harangody, and only guard Tory Jackson (10 points) joined Harangody in double figures.

James and fellow guards Jerel McNeal and Maurice Acker were charged with the task of erasing Notre Dame guard Kyle McAlarney, who entered the contest scoring 16.6 ppg. The senior was frustrated throughout the game, shooting 3-of-12 from the field (1-of-6 from behind the 3-point line) and scoring just nine points.

"It's a team effort. We felt like (Jackson) was really the 'X' factor, he's really the catalyst of the team," James said. "We wanted to take both Jackson and McAlarney out because they're both great players who can make great plays."

In a first half littered with mini-runs, the Golden Eagles were able to stay one pace ahead of the Irish thanks to timely shooting by forward Lazar Hayward (six first-half points) and McNeal.

"I'm just glad my teammates found me," said Hayward, who finished with 13 points. "I guess (Notre Dame) forgot me, I'll take it where I can get it, just sneaking in certain spots."

McNeal scored 16 first-half points on 6-of-12 shooting. He was also 2-of-4 on 3-pointers, and converted a pair of free throws for two old-fashioned three-point plays.

The signature play of the first half came with 10:29 left when McNeal stole a pass from guard Tory Jackson, drove the length of the court and scored over guard Ryan Ayers, despite a hard foul.

That put Marquette up 18-14 and gave the Golden Eagles a lead they would not relinquish until nearly midway through the second half.

"We were taking a lot of tough shots in the first half," James said. "We were taking not selfish shots, but shots we could get any time within the offense…in games like this, you have to stay within yourself."