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Marquette topples No. 9 Syracuse

Jan 30, 2011 - 12:05 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Jae Crowder scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Darius Johnson-Odom added 17 points as Marquette toppled ninth-ranked Syracuse, 76-70, at the Bradley Center.

Jimmy Butler scored 19 points, including two big three-pointers down the stretch, and pulled down eight boards for the Golden Eagles (14-8. 5-4 Big East), who defeated Syracuse for the first time in six tries since joining the Big East.

"We definitely needed this game," Johnson-Odom said. "We came out with the mindset that we were going to win. We did a good defensive job on all their players and cracked the shell of their 2-3 zone."

Kris Joseph scored 18 points while Scoop Jardine supplied 13 points and a career-best 13 assists for the Orange (18-4, 5-4), who have lost four straight for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

"I thought we played as well offensively as we have played all year and I thought it was a great game," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "I thought both teams played well, shot well and moved the ball well."

Jardine's layup tied the game at 56 with 8:16 to play before both teams struggled offensively on their next few possessions.

Butler hit a step back triple as the shot clock was winding down to give the Warriors a 63-59 lead with four minutes to go. Rick Jackson answered with a three-point play on the next trip down the floor with 3:41 to go.

Another Butler triple with the shot clock about to expire snapped a 66-66 tie with just under two minutes remaining. Following a Syracuse turnover, Johnson- Odom buried a trifecta from the right wing with a minute left to extend the lead to six.

Syracuse scored on a C.J. Fair dunk five seconds later before Butler and Dwight Buycks made 1-of-2 at the line to make it 74-68.

Another Fair bucket sliced the deficit to four with 26 ticks left but Johnson- Odom nailed two more at the line to sew up the victory.

Butler's jumper capped a 10-2 spurt that gave Marquette a 27-17 advantage with 9:10 to play in the first half.

Joseph's triple trimmed the margin to 35-29 with 3:00 left in the half but Marquette closed on a 7-2 run to take an 11-point lead at the intermission.

Game Notes

Butler was 6-of-10 from the floor and hit both his attempts from long distance...Both teams were 6-of-13 from beyond the arc...Buycks finished with six points, eight assists and five caroms...Marquette went 24-of-33 from the line while Syracuse made 8-of-14 at the stripe...Joseph and Jardine were both 3-of-6 from three-point territory...Jackson made 6-of-7 shots en route to 14 points...Fair finished with 10 points, three boards and three blocks.