For the second straight year, the Marquette men's basketball team faced off against Duke in the finals of an early-season Thanksgiving tournament. But unlike in 2006, when the Golden Eagles prevailed to win the CBE Classic, Marquette lost 77-73 in the finals of the Maui Invitational.

In the finale, Duke freshman Kyle Singler lit up the Golden Eagles' defense for 25 points as the Blue Devils prolonged their winning streak in Maui to 12 games. Lazar Hayward scored 14 points to lead Marquette, and with the loss, the Golden Eagles fell to 4-1 on the season.

"There's a ton of good (to come out of the tournament)," said head coach Tom Crean. "We did a lot of really good things against Duke; we just didn't do enough.

"Both teams were a little tired in game three, but I don't think that won or lost the game for either team. … We'd just like to have a few things back from inside of the Duke game."

Marquette began the tournament with a lackluster 74-63 win over tournament host Chaminade. The Golden Eagles led the Silverswords by just three points with less than seven minutes to play before junior Jerel McNeal scored eight points to key a late 11-2 run for Marquette. McNeal finished the game with 22 points.

The Golden Eagles fared better against their round two opponent, Oklahoma State, turning in one of their most complete performances of the season in a 91-61 win. Five Marquette players scored in double digits, led by McNeal (20 points) and junior guard Dominic James (18 points). Both James and McNeal were named to the Maui Invitational's All-Tournament team.