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--- men_s_basketball:nova_01_09_10 [2010/01/18 05:30]
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+++ men_s_basketball:nova_01_09_10 [2020/12/07 16:49] (current)
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-===== Eagles Suffer Another Close Loss =====
-{{  men_s_basketball:01_02_10_buycks.jpg|}}
+===== Rally Just Not Enough  =====
+{{  men_s_basketball:01_09_10_odom.jpeg|}}Villanova, PA — Another top-12 opponent, another close game and another kick to the gut for the Marquette Golden Eagles.
+What started as a painful coincidence has become a disturbing trend. For the third time in four Big East Conference games and the second time in a week against the Villanova Wildcats, the Golden Eagles were unable to deliver in the clutch.
+There were positives to be taken from this one, a 78-76 loss at The Pavilion on Saturday, like the way they battled back from a 22-point deficit with 13 minutes, 22 seconds remaining to give themselves a chance to win on what could have been the game's final possession.
+But MU turned the ball over instead, [[Villanova]] iced it on the other end with two free throws and the Golden Eagles returned home 1-3 in Big East play, with the three losses to the Nos. 6, 8 and 6 teams in the nation coming by a grand total of five points.
+"Bottom line is we got beat," said coach [[Buzz Williams]]. "Maybe I should spin it. I tell you guys the same thing I tell our team: I don't feel sorry for our team, I don't feel sorry for me, I don't feel sorry for our coaches. We're 1-3.
+"The teams we're playing are really good, and the whole deal in college basketball is you want to be really good. Otherwise you get beat. That's it. I'm not a philosophical person. Glass half-empty or half-full - what does that mean?
+"I don't get that. We're 1-3."
+That MU (10-6 overall) was even in a position to win the game was remarkable considering how poorly it began the second half. Allowing Villanova (14-1, 3-0) to knock down eight of its first 10 shots to extend its 12-point halftime lead to 52-30, it appeared the Golden Eagles were well on their way to posting their most embarrassing loss of the season.
+"At the media timeout, I said, 'Guys, it's about to turn into an absolute blowout,' " Williams said.
+Starting with [[Darius Johnson-Odom]]'s three-pointer from the top of the key and ending with [[Lazar Hayward]]'s three from almost the same spot, MU gave itself a chance by paring the deficit to 59-50 with 8:32 remaining.
+The Golden Eagles kept the heat on, too, and four more threes over the next 2:22 got them to within 66-63 at the 5:15 mark. With the capacity crowd of 6,500 growing increasingly nervous, the Wildcats stretched their lead back to 75-67 on Scottie Reynolds' three with 3:03 left.
+Four straight free throws by Hayward combined with a defensive stand that saw the Golden Eagles force Villanova into two misses and two turnovers set the stage for the game-deciding sequence.
+It opened with MU forcing yet another turnover, this time with Hayward and Dwight Buycks combining to pick Reynolds' pocket near midcourt. Hayward scooped up the loose ball just past midcourt and raced to the other end for an apparent layup.
+Corey Stokes rushed in from behind and hammered Hayward, sending him sprawling to the floor. Official Tim Higgins hit Stokes with an intentional foul, giving Hayward two free throws with 27 seconds left and MU the ensuing possession.
+After taking a couple minutes to gather himself, Hayward stepped to the line and swished both free throws to make it 75-73. MU then inbounded with a chance to take the final shot and, in essence, win the game.
+After failing to execute the initial play, the ball wound up in the hands of [[Maurice Acker]] with time winding down. Driving the right side but with no clear path to the basket, Acker chose to fire a tough pass to what appeared to be an unsuspecting [[Jimmy Butler]] just outside of the paint.
+Double-teamed, the junior forward tried to quickly pass to Hayward in the corner but lost control of the ball. The Wildcats' Antonio Pena came up with it and was fouled with 8.4 seconds remaining.
+"I knew the ball would be coming to me, but it kind of surprised me because he was kind of deep," said Butler. "I still can't turn it over, man. I mean, that really hurts because that was the key possession."
+A 68.8% free-throw shooter coming in, Pena calmly drained both to make it a two-possession game at 77-73.
+MU then rushed the ball up court, but Acker appeared to stumble while on his way to a potential layup and missed the shot badly. Hayward was then whistled for his fifth foul, and Dominic Cheek hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3.7 seconds left to cap Villanova's scoring.
+A long, running three by Johnson-Odom at the buzzer closed things out.
+MU went the final 5:14 without a field goal but was 10 for 12 from the free-throw line over that same span to give itself a chance.
+"Four games, 12 days, top-12 teams - we're right there," said Hayward, who scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. "We're right there. I think the second half showed exactly who we are, and from now on we just have to do that from start to finish."
+Johnson-Odom finished with 16 points, Butler had 14 and Buycks 11 for MU, which allowed Villanova to shoot 57.1% for the game and 62.5% in the second half. Stokes' 16 points paced five double-figure scorers for Villanova.

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