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--- men_s_basketball:wv_12_29_09 [2010/01/08 18:12]
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 ====== December 29, 2009 - Marquette vs. West Virginia======
-{{men_s_basketball:teams_marquette.gif|}} **Marquette {{men_s_basketball:teams_westvirginia.gif|}} West Virgnia **
+{{men_s_basketball:teams_marquette.gif|}} **Marquette 62 {{men_s_basketball:teams_westvirginia.gif|}} (6) West Virgnia 63**
-===== Recap =====
+===== Failing To Put It Away  =====
+{{  men_s_basketball:12_29_09_fulce.jpg|}}
+Morgantown, W. Va. — No stranger to gut-wrenching, last-second losses in recent seasons, the Marquette Golden Eagles fell victim to yet another in their Big East Conference opener Tuesday night at WVU Coliseum.
+But this one, a 63-62 setback against the No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers, was about as painful as they come not only because of the ending but also because of how well the Golden Eagles had played to that point against a much bigger, deeper and more talented team.
+It was Da'Sean Butler's fall-away jumper from about 21 feet with 2.3 seconds remaining that sealed the deal for the Mountaineers. But West Virginia (11-0, 2-0) wouldn't have even been in that position had MU (9-4, 0-1) been able to knock down its free throws down the stretch.
+The Golden Eagles went 1 for 4 from the free-throw line over the final 1 minute 2 seconds, leaving the door wide open for a Mountaineers team that was primed for what would have been one of the season's bigger upsets.
+"Every possession is monumental when you have the margin of error that we have," said MU coach [[Buzz Williams]]. "We're competing at an elite level in an elite league against an elite team at their place, and you have to play near-perfect against a (Bob) Huggins team, because you're not going to out-tough them, you're not going to out-physical them. They're not going to beat themselves.
+"So you not only have to do those things, you have to try to do those things a little bit better in hopes that you have a chance."
+MU, which led, 37-33, at halftime, opened the second half ice-cold, missing its first six shots and managing just two free throws in the first 5:54 as West Virginia took a 42-39 lead.
+A driving layup by [[Dwight Buycks]] broke the ice for the Golden Eagles, and they traded the lead with the Mountaineers four times over the next few minutes as both teams tried to deal one final knockout blow.
+A three-point play by Lazar Hayward jump-started what appeared to be just that for MU, as the Golden Eagles went on a 10-2 run to stretch their lead to 59-53 with 4:57 remaining. It stood at 61-57 when the wheels slowly started to come off.
+With 1:02 left, [[Darius Johnson-Odom]] hit 1 of 2 free throws, and then MU was unable to come up with a loose ball on a Kevin Jones miss that Jones eventually corraled to make it 62-59.
+With 23.4 seconds left, Johnson-Odom barely drew iron on the front end of a one-and-one, and Devin Ebanks got to the rim unmolested on the other end for a dunk to make it 62-61 with 16.2 seconds left.
+After a timeout, MU in-bounded the ball and [[Jimmy Butler]] was fouled with 11.2 seconds left. About a month removed from a 4-for-12 performance from the free-throw line in MU's down-to-the-wire loss to Florida State, Butler missed the front end and West Virginia's Butler rebounded.
+Guarded by Hayward, his teammate over the summer on USA Basketball's World University Games team, Butler made his way up the right side of the court. Eventually Butler faked left to get some room on the wing, stepped back right and drained a fall-away jumper to send the crowd of 12,872 into hysteria.
+"That's why I went to guard him - because I knew he was going to shoot it," said Hayward. "I got him turned twice, got him to bobble the ball, he shot a fadeaway from deep. I think I guarded him the best I could. He's a good player; he made a tough shot."
+Williams immediately called a timeout, and during it the officials changed the shot to a two instead of a three while changing the clock from 1.8 to 2.3. The Golden Eagles eventually gave the ball on the inbounds play to [[David Cubillan]], and the senior heaved a baseball pass toward the opposite free-throw line.
+The Mountaineers' Joe Mazzulla was able to pick off the pass and seal the victory.
+"You guys played your (expletive) off," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said to Williams after the game.
+Williams, meanwhile, wasn't about to lament what could have been from the free-throw line.
+"I don't do anything," he said, when asked how he'd handle another late-game meltdown at the charity stripe. "You've got to be tough enough to make free throws. That's it."
+Hayward led all scorers with 24 points and Johnson-Odom added 14 for MU, which lost despite making 10 of 16 three-pointers.
+Ebanks had 19 points, Jones 18 and Butler 17 for West Virginia, which shot 50.9%.
+As expected, there were some interesting matchups from the outset between the smallish Golden Eagles and the gangly Mountaineers, most notably the 6-foot-9 Ebanks guarding 5-7 Maurice Acker, and Acker trying to check Ebanks on the other end.
+After a sluggish start, MU found its groove by forcing a few turnovers and knocking down consecutive three-pointers, the second of which, from the left wing by Hayward, pulled the Golden Eagles even at 11-11 with 13:38 remaining in the first half.
+MU took its first lead of the game a little over 2 minutes later on another Hayward three at 14-13, and after Jones bounced in a three from the top of the key, Hayward buried his third of the half — this from the left corner — to get the Golden Eagles back in front once again.
+Hayward provided an exclamation point not long thereafter, taking a steal at just before the midcourt stripe, streaking down and throwing down a monstrous one-handed jam in the face of 6-8, 260-pound Dan Jennings while also being fouled.
+The free throw gave MU a 20-16 lead, then Johnson-Odom’s layup stretched it to 22-16 with 7:28 left. The Golden Eagles forced four consecutive turnovers and a miss over that same span.
+West Virginia responded with an 11-2 run to jump back in front, 27-22, but an Acker three and another Johnson-Odom layup halted the surge and started another for the Golden Eagles. This one wound up being 13-3 to close out the half, with Hayward burying his fourth three off a nice drive and dish by Johnson-Odom to make it 37-30 with 4.7 seconds left.
+West Virginia was able to get the ball upcourt quickly, however, and responded with a running three by Ebanks from about 35 feet on the left wing at the buzzer to make it 37-33 heading into intermission.
+Hayward closed out the first half with 17 points, as he knocked down 6 of 9 shots overall and 4 of 5 threes. Perhaps just as impressive was the fact MU was able to take a four-point lead into halftime despite a nearly silent offensive first half by Butler (five points, two rebounds).
+The Golden Eagles sank 7 of 10 three-pointers and shot 48.1% overall. They also converted eight West Virginia turnovers into eight points.
+Ebanks led the Mountaineers with 13 points and five rebounds, all of which came on the offensive end. Jones added 10 points.

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