Marquette and Norfolk State meet for Paradise Jam title

Nov 21, 2011 - 3:37 PM St. Thomas, VI (Sports Network) - For the second consecutive Monday, Marquette and Norfolk State will square off, but this time its for the Paradise Jam title.

Norfolk State advanced to the championship game with an impressive weekend run, beating Drexel and TCU to earn the right to meet the Eagles. Against TCU, Norfolk State pestered the Horned Frogs, forcing TCU to shoot just 25.4 percent from the field, as TCU also committed 13 turnovers. Norfolk State will return home on November 27th to meet Eastern Kentucky.

Marquette has made quick work of its Paradise Jam opponents, beating Winthrop 95-73 on Friday followed by a 96-66 beat down of Ole Miss on Sunday. Jae Crowder led the Eagles with 25 points in the win. Marquette will host Jacksonville in its next home game on November 28th.

Marquette leads the all-time series with Norfolk State, 1-0. Marquette defeated Norfolk State 99-68 last week in Milwaukee.

Norfolk State really got after TCU defensively. The Horned Frogs hit just 7- of-31 field goals in the first half, followed by 8-of-28 in the second half, and went just 1-of-18 from the field. Offensively, Norfolk State was led by Kyle O'Quinn, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Chris McEachin was also solid, hitting 5-of-11 field goals (4-of-7 from three-point range) en route to scoring 16 points. Pendarvis Williams added eight points and four boards, as Norfolk State shot 47.6 percent from the field and outrebounded TCU 45-29.

Marquette's Crowder was phenomenal against Ole Miss, as he went 9-of-11 from the floor (2-of-3 from three-point range) and added seven rebounds in the win. Darius Johnson-Odom also had a strong night, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor and nailing two three-pointers en route to 20 points. Marquette was awfully efficient on both ends of the floor, shooting 55.8 percent from the field while holding Ole Miss to 32.1 percent shooting and forcing 19 turnovers in the win. Ole Miss also committed 33 fouls against the Eagles.