Two losing streaks came to an end Saturday afternoon in South Orange, N.J.
The Marquette Golden Eagles picked up not only its first true road victory of the season, but also its first win since Jan. 14 in a 57-54 triumph over the Seton Hall Pirates Saturday afternoon.
Marquette controlled the action for much of the game, but almost let the win slip away as Seton Hall made a furious rally to nearly avoid the home letdown. The Golden Eagles led by 12 with 4:46 to go, but the Pirates staged a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to just three points with 1:55 remaining. A Brandon Mobley layup trimmed Marquette’s advantage to just one point with 1:23 to go and it appeared Marquette could be heading down a similar path to its heartbreaking loss to Butler just a week ago.
Marquette would hold on, however. The Golden Eagles locked down defensively in the closing minutes and following two missed 3-pointers by Jaren Sina on the same possession, Duane Wilson snagged the rebound and sank two free throws to close out the three-point win.
The Golden Eagles pulled it out without leading scorer Matt Carlino, who was held out of the contest with a concussion. Marquette also battled foul trouble as Wilson and Luke Fischer each picked up four fouls.
Marquette got unexpected performances from Jajuan Johnson and Steve Taylor, who each scored 14 points. Johnson replaced Carlino in the starting lineup.
With Carlino out, Marquette put an emphasis on driving the lane and getting the ball into the paint. The Golden Eagles held on despite going 1-of-10 from 3-point range and sinking only 12 free throws out of 24 attempts. The Golden Eagles had only eight assisted baskets.
Marquette’s defense was a catalyst for much of the action and held Seton Hall to just 30.5 percent from the floor. The Golden Eagles had 10 steals and eight blocks.
After a lethargic performance in a blowout loss to Villanova on Wednesday, the Golden Eagles put up a spirited effort to snap its six-game losing streak, it’s longest skid since the 1999 season. Marquette will try to carry that momentum into a late run in conference play starting Tuesday night when the Xavier Musketeers visit the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
