Mississippi Valley State 77 Marquette 102

Jae Crowder arrived at Marquette University last summer out of shape and far behind the other members of the Golden Eagles' 2010-'11 recruiting class.

He heads into the Christmas break as one of the team's most indispensible players, however, and riding the wave of a career-best offensive performance.

The junior forward scored a game-high 22 points - including 12 straight in a span of just 1 minute 53 seconds in the first half - to lead MU past Mississippi Valley State, 102-77, on Tuesday night at the Bradley Center.

Crowder hit three consecutive three-pointers as he helped the Golden Eagles (9-3) open a 14-point lead on the Delta Devils (1-10) and eventually hit the century mark in scoring for the first time since Nov. 17, 2008.

He also chipped in with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 28 minutes, making his second straight start one that might keep him with the opening group for the foreseeable future.

“If this is what helps, I don't mind it,” said Crowder. “I don't mind coming off the bench as well. Whatever wins games, I'm comfortable doing.”

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Crowder came to MU with quite a résumé, having led Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, to the national junior-college championship while also being named the junior college player of the year.

Billed as having a similar game to the player he was being recruited to replace - the eventually NBA-bound Lazar Hayward - Crowder also found he had awfully big shoes to fill.

He was unable to attend summer school at MU like the rest of his teammates because he had to finish up classes at Howard. So once Crowder finally got to Milwaukee in late August, he was forced to hit the ground running.

He made the adjustment with relative ease, though, and from the outset of the season he's been one of the Golden Eagles' biggest contributors despite literally learning the Division I game on the fly. There have been some bumps in the road - mostly stemming from foul trouble - but otherwise the transition has gone smoothly.

After the win over MVSU, Crowder ranks third on the Golden Eagles in scoring at 11.8 points per game, second in rebounding at 6.1, second in steals at 1.6 and first in three-point accuracy at 44.8% (13 for 29).

“He has acclimated quicker than any junior college player I've ever been around, and I've been around a bunch,” coach Buzz Williams said. “It's not just what you see relative to games; it's individual workouts, boot camp, practice. Jae's handled that exceedingly well.

“I've always viewed him as a starter even though I haven't necessarily started him. But I do think that he has earned the right to start, and I do think that our team functions better with him as a starter.”

MU was up, 31-24, when Crowder went crazy.

He started off his personal run with a three-pointer from the left wing. After the Delta Devils responded with a three of their own, Crowder knocked down another from the top of the key.

Then, after a MVSU miss, Crowder found himself open at the top of the key yet again. He fired away, knocked it down and also was fouled, bringing what had been a subdued crowd to its feet.

“On the way down I heard my teammates yelling, 'heat check,' ” Crowder said. “So after I heard that, I gave them a heat check and it went in. It's just playing basketball.”

MU entered the game with just nine healthy bodies after guards Junior Cadougan and Reggie Smith were ruled out due to illness. Still, the Golden Eagles racked up a season-high 26 assists on 34 baskets, knocked down 26 of 31 free throws (83.9%) and converted 17 MVSU turnovers into 27 points.