The Marquette Golden Eagles pulled off their biggest BIG EAST victory in over six years, defeating the DePaul Blue Demons, 83-58.
Marquette had a lethargic start, missing four of their six shots. The team did not attain their first lead of the game until the 11:48 mark in the first half.
That lead only lasted just over a minute before DePaul retook the lead in a start to the half that Wojciechowski described as “heavy-legged.”
“(We were) just not moving the ball and finding the open guy,” Andrew Rowsey said. “Once we did that… everything started falling.”
The team’s improved ball movement later in the half resulted in nine consecutive 3-pointers to extend their lead to as much as 23 before halftime.
“The great ball movement led to some open shots where our guys were able to hold it and set their feet and shoot in-rhythm shots,” Wojciechowski said. “We played really unselfish during that spurt, some of the most unselfish basketball we’ve played all year.”
Rowsey was at the center of the team’s offensive attack, finishing the first half with a team-high 19 points on 7 for 8 shooting from the field and 5 for 6 shooting from long range.
“His threes mean a lot to this team,” Wojciechowski said. “They were real momentum plays.”
Reinhardt complemented Rowsey’s 19 with 11 first half of his own. Junior Duane Wilson only took two shots in the first half, both of which from 3-point range, but made both of them.
“Katin played well also and Duane, he had a bunch of big shots during that stretch,” Rowsey said. “It was just a team effort throughout that stretch.”
The team’s 12 first half 3-pointers was the most in a half since 10-year NBA veteran Steve Novak’s time at Marquette.
“You definitely ride that wave,” Rowsey added. “But at the same time, you have to keep your head level and know that anytime, a game can change like that.”
Marquette’s wave of hot offense died down to just a ripple in the first few minutes of the second half. The Blue Demons outscored the Golden Eagles 6-2 in the first four minutes of the new half.
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“Coach has always emphasized to us to start the second half strong, which as a team we haven’t been as well starting the second half as we should,” Rowsey said. “It was a big point for us to come out in the second half and keep where we were and keep the lead up.”
While the team’s offense struggled, the defense held DePaul to 23.5 percent shooting in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
“We did a good job defensively to hold them,” Wojciechowski said. “We were able to complete our defensive possessions tonight with rebounds. Overall, it was a pretty good performance.”
Even with the team’s subpar second half offense, Rowsey finished the game with 24 points, his highest point total of the BIG EAST season so far.
Rowsey’s high scoring output came after playing only three minutes against Seton Hall with only three points.
“You could say that (Wednesday was a motivation),” Rowsey said. “Coach told me that it wouldn’t have been my night, keep my head up because any game could be mine and to just look forward to the next one.”
“One of the things we talk about on a daily basis is on every possession, we want the ball to find the best shot,” Wojciechowski said. “We have enough good players where that may mean one guy has a day today and another guy has a day the next game.”
Reinhardt finished with 19 points.
“(Reinhardt) has found his footing,” Wojciechowski said. “This was his best floor game.”
Rowsey and Reinhardt’s perimeter success came despite a virtually nonexistent performance by senior center Luke Fischer. The Germantown native finished the game with just two points and two rebounds in 17 minutes.
The team also thrived at sharing the ball, finishing the game with 22 assists and 12 turnovers.
“It’s been a huge emphasis for us,” Rowsey said. “Coach preaches that to us all the time.”
With this win, Marquette advances to 3-2 in BIG EAST play and will hit the road to face No. 12 Butler Monday.
“It is a quick turnaround and a tough turnaround for us,” Rowsey said. “We have to go in there with a laser focus and prepare to win.”
“Butler’s an outstanding team,” Wojciechowski said. “This is a terrific year, Hinkle Fieldhouse is a great place to play and it’s a very quick turnaround for us. We’re not going to be able to do a whole lot on the floor (in preparation), so a lot of it will be film study and walk through.”
