Big-time players step up in big moments.
And just as senior forward Lazar Hayward elevated his game against the towering frontcourt of Connecticut Saturday, he came up big again Wednesday night in Marquette’s 80-69 win over DePaul.
Granted, few would have labeled Wednesday’s contest “big” at the beginning of the season. But after Marquette’s late collapse against the Blue Demons at Allstate Arena on Jan. 20, a big game is exactly what Wednesday became.
“This was an important game for us,” sophomore guard Darius Johnson-Odom said. “Especially since they beat us (at Allstate Arena) and we didn’t play towards our potential.”
Hayward started the game 0-for-2, and as he went, so did Marquette. The Golden Eagles hung on to a slim lead until the 7:17 mark in the first half, when they took off on an 11-5 run entering the intermission.
“He didn’t get a lot of touches to start the game, he didn’t play the same number of normal minutes to start the game,” coach Buzz Williams said of his senior leader. “When he picked up his first foul I took him out for a little bit. I think that his aggressiveness decreases when he picks up his second foul, and our team needs him to be on the floor as much as possible.”
Hayward finished the first frame with 12 points and eight rebounds.
But he was just getting started. Out of the break, Hayward willed his team to a 26-point lead midway through the second half.
“He’s going to get a touch whether we run a play for him or not,” Williams said. “Because he’s that good of a player and our other players realized he’s that good.”
In Marquette’s first game at DePaul, Hayward’s deficiencies were clear from the box score: three of the team’s 10 turnovers, 14 points and eight rebounds despite 37 minutes. He also scored all 14 of those points in the first half, then failed to record a single basket in the second.
Hayward’s contributions, however, go beyond just his stats. He’s also his team’s biggest cheerleader. In the midst of Marquette’s 15-4 second half run, Johnson-Odom intercepted a pass then sprinted to the other end of the court for a rim-rattling dunk. Standing off on his own, shouting and pumping his fist, was Hayward.
When all was said and done, Hayward finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds (five offensive), two assists, three steals and one block in just 29 minutes.
“Our guys enjoy trying to contain him,” DePaul coach Tracy Webster said of Hayward. “I mean, you can’t really stop a really good player.”
His 7-of-8 mark from the free throw line (along with Jimmy Butler’s 14-of-16) paced Marquette to a season-high 44 free throw attempts and a season-high 36 makes.
In the end, avenging a loss that should likely never have happened may be a small consolation to fans. It may even be too little too late for the NCAA selection committee come March. But to this team’s star, it’s still worth acknowledging.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Hayward said. “They’re doing a great job of buying in and doing the things that we need to do to win.”
Spoken like a true leader.
