If Saturday's game between Marquette and DePaul was a literary work, it might have been titled, "A Tale of Two Halves."

For the Golden Eagles, who pulled away down the stretch for a 79-71 win, the first half was the worst of times, and the second, the best of times.

Coming off back-to-back losses for the first time this season – a 20-point loss to Louisville and a 16-point defeat at the hands of Connecticut – the game's first four minutes didn't exactly inspire confidence in the sold-out Bradley Center crowd.

Marquette shot only nine percent over that time period, missing 10 of its first 11 shots.

"It was all confidence, we were getting good shots, we just weren't making them," said junior guard Wesley Matthews. "We were making the right plays, reversing the ball, driving it and kicking it, and it's just faith in yourself, faith in each other."

While the Golden Eagles improved slightly over the next 15 minutes, shooting 33.3 percent and taking a 29-27 lead at the half, the shooting performance bore a great resemblance to Marquette's play on the road lately.

In Marquette's three conference losses this year – all on the road – the Golden Eagles have experienced shooting troubles. Against West Virginia (79-64) Marquette shot a respectable 41.5 percent, but that paled in comparison to West Virginia's 68.2 percent shooting in the second half.

In Louisville, the Golden Eagles fared much worse, making 17-of-56 shots, including a 0-for-12 mark from the three-point arc. Marquette shot 55.1 percent against UConn, but made just 2-of-11 three-point shots down the stretch.

"I don't know if it's a comfort thing, but it's definitely easier to play at home, especially when you've got a sold-out arena, your fans, your bed," Matthews said.

The shooting woes the Golden Eagles experienced during the first half melted away at the start of the second. Marquette exploded for 50 points while shooting 52.8 percent from the field.

"Marquette had a great effort tonight, and they caught us with a little burst in the second half, and we could never get over the hump," DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright said. "The crowd, I thought, energized them and helped them maintain a pace in the second half that was very successful."

So what was the turning point?

"We don't get too worked up about shots, we missed a lot of open shots in the last two games that we lost," said head coach Tom Crean. At halftime, he continued, "We really just wanted to reiterate our game plan and what we were trying to do."

Eventually the shots started falling, and four Marquette players scored in double figures.

Junior Dominic James led the team with 19 points, Jerel McNeal scored 15, Lazar Hayward poured in 14 and Matthews added 10.

The end result allowed the game to appear closer than it was. Marquette was outscored 14-5 in the final three minutes.

Now, the Golden Eagles must figure out a way to take the good times from the second half on Saturday and translate that into some success outside of Milwaukee.

"Last year, if you recall, we were a road team," Matthews said. "It doesn't matter where you play, you just have to make sure you're coming out with the right mindset of defensive rebounding and take that to whatever court we're on."