Texas A&M Corpus Christi 50 Marquette 86

What was shaping up to be a real feel-good victory for the Marquette Golden Eagles took a turn for the worst Tuesday night at the Bradley Center.

Senior forward Joseph Fulce had to be helped from the court at the 13-minute mark of the second half of an eventual 86-50 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after crumpling in a heap after aggravating a left-knee injury.

Fulce, who'd returned to action Saturday after missing the previous four games due to swelling and stiffness in the knee, appeared to bump knees with an Islanders player in the lane while defending on a drive, and lay prone on his stomach while play continued the other way down the court.

Officials eventually stopped play, and Fulce's screams were clearly audible as trainer Ernest Eugene rushed to his side, followed by coach Buzz Williams. Fulce remained on the ground for a few minutes before sitting up and being helped off the court by Eugene and teammate Jamil Wilson.

Fulce, who was surrounded by the rest of the team as he made his way off the court, put no weight on the leg at all. Afterward Williams, in a hurry to join Fulce at the hospital, indicated that Fulce's knee had just given out.

“No,” he said when asked if the collision played a role. “He's got a shot knee; it's been shot. I would say it's completely shot. That's all I know.”

Fulce's injury put a damper on what also started off as a somber evening after the death of Hank Raymonds on Monday. MU honored its legendary former coach and athletic director with a moment of silence and a photo montage before the game, and a high-energy first half in which the Golden Eagles' (7-2) 22 points off 13 Islanders turnovers helped the team to a 48-17 halftime lead.

MU was humming along to start the second half as well before Fulce was felled during a 14-2 Golden Eagles run that extended their lead to 68-32. Fulce, who finished with four points and four rebounds in 11 minutes, recently had 40 cc's of fluid drained from the knee and had a successful return with nine points and six rebounds in 17 minutes Saturday.

“When I knew it was the same knee he just came back from, I knew it was serious,” said teammate Jae Crowder. “The screaming I heard and everyone else heard really shut me down from that point.”

MU, which led by as many as 40 points, got a career-high 21 points from Vander Blue, while Crowder and Jimmy Butler added 15 points apiece, Darius Johnson-Odom 12 and Davante Gardner 10.

The Golden Eagles wound up scoring 30 points off 22 turnovers by the Islanders (3-6) while also shooting 55.0% and scoring 52 points in the paint.

Gardner's 15-minute stint in his return from a three-game absence because of a left-shoulder sprain was one positive for MU. But that was offset not only by Fulce's injury, but also the second left-ankle sprain of the season suffered in practice by Dwight Buycks.

The senior guard sat out the game because of it, and his availability for MU's annual intrastate rivalry game with Wisconsin on Saturday is now up in the air.

“He's got a quarter of an inch of tape on his ankle, and he still turns it,” Williams said. “It's the same spot, same type sprain. Been in a boot since it happened. I don't know that he'll be able to play Saturday. He won't be able to practice tomorrow, and I doubt he'll be able to practice Thursday.”

Without Buycks, freshman Reggie Smith got the start at the point and responded with five steals, while Blue re-entered the starting lineup and hit 9 of 13 shots to go along with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 29 minutes.