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Marquette knocks off WVU

Mar 10, 2011 - 6:32 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - There will be a new Big East Conference Tournament champion, as Junior Cadougan scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to spark Marquette past No. 20 West Virginia, 67-61, in second- round tourney action.

Darius Johnson-Odom netted 11 points and Davante Gardner added 10 for the Golden Eagles (20-13), who topped Providence on Tuesday in first-round play and face Louisville in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Kevin Jones had 15 points to lead the defending tournament champion Mountaineers (20-11), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

West Virginia, the No. 6 seed, scored 14 of the last 15 points in the opening half to go into the locker room holding a 36-29 advantage.

The Mountaineers went up 41-31 on a Darryl Bryant three-pointer early in the second half, but the 11th-seeded Golden Eagles chipped away at the deficit -- thanks to seven straight points from Cadougan -- and pulled even at 48-48 on Gardner's three-point play with 11:15 to play.

"I think Junior did a great job tonight. He played as hard as anybody. I think he controlled the tempo of the game on both ends of the court," Marquette head coach Buzz Williams said.

Casey Mitchell drained a three-pointer on the Mountaineers' next possession, but they went the next nine-plus minutes without making a field goal.

"We just don't make open shots ... I've said it and said it and said it, we just don't make open shots," West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said.

Johnson-Odom's three-pointer broke a 55-55 tie with just under five minutes to play, giving Marquette the lead for good. John Flowers turned the ball over at the other end, and Johnson-Odom nailed another from long range to extend the margin even further.

Despite their shooting struggles, the Mountaineers pulled within one possession on two Bryant free throws with 32 seconds to play prior to Jimmy Butler throwing the inbounds pass away. Bryant, though, was unable to get a contested shot in the lane to fall, and Cadougan iced the game with two free throws.

Game Notes

The Golden Eagles have never won the Big East Tournament...Marquette won the only regular season meeting between the two schools, taking a 79-74 decision on New Year's Day... WVU went 10-of-22 from three-point range...Flowers scored 11 points for the Mountaineers...Butler chipped in nine points for Marquette.