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Balanced attack paces Marquette past Mount St. Mary's

Nov 12, 2011 - 6:41 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Darius Johnson-Odom had 16 points to lead six Marquette scorers in double figures, and the 22nd-ranked Golden Eagles had no trouble Friday night in a 91-37 win over Mount St. Mary's to open the season.

Jae Crowder and Chris Otule added 14 points apiece for Marquette (1-0) while Vander Blue, Jamail Jones and Junior Cadougan each had 10 as the team won its 11th season opener in a row.

"I think it was up and down. I think there were times we relaxed a bit," Otule said.

Julian Norfleet scored 12 points to lead the overmatched and shorthanded Mountaineers (0-1), who played without senior guard Lamar Trice and sophomore forward Kristijan Krajina.

Both players were suspended indefinitely Friday for violating team rules.

Marquette, meanwhile, was without freshman forward Juan Anderson, who was suspended three games by the NCAA on Friday for accepting a free ticket to a Milwaukee Brewers playoff game.

The Mountaineers missed Trice, who was the Northeast Conference's Most Improved Player last season after averaging 13.3 points per game.

They shot just over 29 percent for the game and couldn't keep pace with Marquette's nearly 57 percent shooting.

The Golden Eagles, who lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16 last season, put a Big East hurting on Mount St. Mary's and led by as many as 56 points in the final minute.

Earlier, they opened the game in front of a home Bradley Center crowd with an 8-2 run and had a 31-9 lead with under eight minutes left in the first half.

Marquette took a 49-18 lead into the break, then started the second half on a 10-3 surge to keep its distance.

Game Notes

Krajina sat out the entire 2010-11 season with an ankle injury...Marquette is 80-15 in season openers and has won 12 of its last 13...Mount St. Mary's went 11-21 last season and 9-9 in the conference.