But despite starting the game looking like a team plagued by inexperience, the Golden Eagles found a more veteran presence and managed an 83-55 victory over the Wolves in their only exhibition game.,”Tied 12-12 through 10 minutes of Sunday's game against Northern State, the Marquette men's basketball team looked like anything but a team returning the top seven scorers from a squad that made the NCAA tournament last year.

But despite starting the game looking like a team plagued by inexperience, the Golden Eagles found a more veteran presence and managed an 83-55 victory over the Wolves in their only exhibition game.

"I think the most important thing is that there were times, especially in the second half, where we played like a veteran team, and that's how we have to play," head coach Tom Crean said. "We have to be able to stick with it defensively when shots aren't falling, lay-ups aren't falling."

Marquette shot 42 percent from the field in the first half, including 33 percent from behind the three-point line. Northern State was content to send the Golden Eagles' post players to the free throw line instead of allowing easy buckets, committing 17 personal fouls in the first 20 minutes.

The Golden Eagles failed to take advantage of that strategy, connecting on only 16 of 29 first-half free throw attempts. Juniors Wesley Matthews, who finished with 16 points, and Dominic James, who scored 12 points, made a combined 12 of 15.

"A great lesson for everybody else is that the guys who got in double figures made most of their free throws," Crean said. "The free throw shooting doesn't worry me too much. We have not been in here very much, it's a place we've got to get used to."

When Marquette couldn't even get a free throw to fall, it was able to strap down Northern State on the defensive end, forcing 31 turnovers. Forward Dwight Burke turned in five steals and guard Jerel McNeal grabbed four as the Golden Eagles tallied 19 points off of Northern State mistakes.

But McNeal's defensive presence wasn't necessarily limited to the stat sheet. With just under 10 minutes left in the first half, he leaped to alter the shot of a Northern State guard. Sophomore Lazar Hayward picked off the resulting loose ball and fired a pass to guard Maurice Acker who streaked in for an easy lay-up. Marquette took a 14-12 lead and never trailed again.

The Golden Eagles began the second half on an 23-9 run, opening up a 63-39 lead with just over 11 minutes left to play and forcing Northern State to settle for three-point shots. The Wolves shot just 9 percent from beyond the arc during the game, making two of 22.

"I thought today was a real good game all around for everybody," said Hayward, who finished with a game-high 17 points. "I think we still have a long way to go on defense, we had a couple of mishaps, but we should be a much more mature team this year."

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