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Crowder leads No. 11 Marquette past Green Bay

Dec 11, 2011 - 5:50 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Jae Crowder scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds as 11th-ranked Marquette ran past Green Bay, 79-61, at the Bradley Center.

Davante Gardner and Vander Blue each scored 14, while Todd Mayo and Darius Johnson-Odom both had 10 points for the Golden Eagles (9-0), who shot nearly 58 percent from the field in the second half.

"We need Van to have more of a presence on the glass on both ends of the floor," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "If we could get six or eight points on putbacks that really helps from a possession standpoint."

Crowder's 3-pointer with less than seven seconds left in regulation allowed the Golden Eagles to escape with a 79-77 victory over Washington Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic. On Saturday, the senior forward knocked down four long-distance shots and led the Golden Eagles to their first 9-0 start since the 2004-05 season. That's when Marquette made a National Invitation Tournament appearance under Tom Crean.

Alec Brown had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to pace Green Bay (4-7), which fell to 2-9 all-time against Marquette.

Marquette forced 25 turnovers, leading to 34 points.

"We turned the ball over, that's the story of the game," Phoenix coach Brian Wardle said. "If we had just taken better care of the ball a little bit more, good things may have happened for us."

The Golden Eagles scored the game's first eight points, capped by a tip-in from Gardner. Blue's layup provided a 15-4 advantage 6:43 into the game.

The margin stayed around 10 for most of the half, and Marquette went into the break holding a 32-23 cushion.

The hosts began the second half with a dominating 12-2 burst, finished by Blue's dunk. Marquette was ahead by double-digits the rest of the night.

Game Notes

The Golden Eagles held a 32-8 advantage in fast-break points...Marquette center Chris Otule, out indefinitely with an injured ACL, was not in the starting lineup for the first time this season after having made 33 consecutive starts.