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Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Marquette survives Providence, back to .500 in Big East

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Marquette senior forward Davante Gardner during the Golden Eagles’ game versus the Providence Friars on 1/30/14. (Photo by Mike Cianciolo / [email protected])

The Golden Eagles had heard plenty about Providence’s five straight wins and Bryce Cotton’s impressive outputs night after night.

When push came to shove, Marquette had enough to cool down the Friars and pull back to .500 in the Big East.

Despite a 16-0 second half Friars run that saw a 19-point lead sliced to three, Marquette survived Thursday to halt Cotton and the streaking Friars, winning 61-50. The Golden Eagles improved to 4-4 in conference play.

Paced by Davante Gardner’s 14 points and six rebounds and Jamil Wilson’s 11 points, Marquette held Providence to 14 points in the first half on 18 percent shooting and led the entire way. Ten Golden Eagles scored, resulting in a 30-2 bench point discrepancy.

Cotton, entering Thursday averaging 20.5 points per game, netted 20 for the Friars, while LaDontae Henton scored 18.

Marquette built a 17-point halftime lead behind 10-of-26 shooting and limiting Providence to 5-of-28 from the field.

The Friars clawed their way back midway through the second half using the duo of Cotton and Henton, who combined for 12 points in the 16-0 run. The Golden Eagles, held without a field goal for 6:17 in that span, responded with layups by Jamil Wilson and Todd Mayo to get the lead to seven with 10 minutes to go.

A floater by Cotton with eight minutes left made the score 45-40. Mayo and Wilson teamed up to score the next eight Marquette points while Henton tried to counter on his own by scoring the Friars’ final eight points.

The Golden Eagles converted at the free throw line when Providence was forced to chase and foul, making 8-of-9 foul shots to seal the win.

Providence shot 47 percent in the second half after the poor first period. The Friars collected 17 offensive rebounds for the night, but could only manage 11 second-chance points. The Friars committed 15 turnovers and shot 2-of-17 from long range.

Marquette used a unique starting lineup of Jamil Wilson, Derrick Wilson, Jajuan Johnson, Deonte Burton and Chris Otule. It marked the first career starts for both Burton and Johnson. Johnson scored three points in 12 minutes, and Burton scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in 15 minutes.

It was a critical win for the Golden Eagles, who have been in search of a quality win. With Providence ranked 43rd in the RPI, Marquette moved to 2-8 against the RPI top 50.

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