Marquette's two game losing streak skidded to a halt Saturday night with a 73 — 59 victory over the St. John's Red Storm.

Both sides were sloppy and inconsistent in the first half, shooting a combined 40 percent. The first period was a stark contrast to Marquette's game against Villanova on Tuesday, when they shot 55 percent and scored 45 points in the first half.

With a few minutes left in the first half however, Marquette started playing better defense, which gave them points offensively. They managed to put some space between themselves and the Red Storm, heading into the locker rooms with a 32 — 24 lead.

At halftime coach Buzz Williams told his team not to worry about their seven turnovers.

"All those turnovers were on me," Williams said. "We haven't practiced offensively since Villanova."

The second half was a different story. Wesley Matthews, who was sidelined for most of the first period due to foul trouble, came out with five quick points in three minutes, extending the Golden Eagles lead to 13.

"We always like (Matthews) to be on the floor," Williams said. "He probably touches the ball more than anybody else."

Going into the game, St. John's had a clear size advantage, starting two players at 6-8 and one at 6-6, with 6-10 Dele Coker coming off the bench. The size seemed to bother Marquette in the first half, as the Red Storm clogged the lanes and played active defense on nearly every possession.

But Williams said their problems are never on the offensive side.

"Our problems will always be defensively," Williams said.

Defensively, Marquette was much more active in the second half, forcing 15 turnovers compared to 9 in the first half.

"I think we got our mojo back," Williams said.

After the break, Marquette's defense created an up-tempo offense. The Golden Eagles had already matched their first half field goal total in the first 10 minutes, and shot 56 percent from the field for the entire half.

Though the Red Storm shot better in the second half as well, 54 percent from the field, they couldn't seem to make a run to close the gap.

"We got a chance to cut it to 10 with 4 or 5 minutes to go, but McNeal and (Matthews) were there," said St. John's coach Norm Roberts. "We just committed too many turnovers."

Turnovers produced 24 points for the Golden Eagles and just 14 for St. John's.

Senior guard Dominic James agreed, it was their defense which gave their offense more fluidity.

"We know that we are going to put the ball in the basket, but we got to win with defense," said James. "If we continue to get stops that will make us better on the offensive end."

The Golden Eagles are now 10-2 in the Big East, marking their fourth straight year with 10 wins in conference play. Their record is good enough for a second place standing in the Big East, alongside Pittsburg University.