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Blue helps No. 18 Marquette get past No. 16 Pittsburgh

Feb 17, 2013 - 3:29 AM Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Vander Blue had 19 points and the 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles extended their home winning streak to 23 straight games with a 79-69 victory over the 16th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers.

Davante Gardner and Jamil Wilson added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Golden Eagles (18-6, 9-3 Big East), who bounced back from a 63-55 loss at Georgetown on Monday night. Trent Lockett tallied 11 points.

"For our guys to have executed the way that they did, I'm very thankful for the win," said Marquette head coach Buzz Williams.

Marquette moved into a first-place tie with Georgetown and Syracuse in the Big East.

The Golden Eagles beat Pittsburgh twice this season, also winning in the Steel City back on Jan. 12.

Lamar Patterson ended with 19 points for the Panthers (20-6, 8-5), who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Tray Woodall tallied 10 points and eight assists.

"Things we emphasized, we didn't get done," said Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon.

Pittsburgh got within three, 28-25, on James Robinson's layup with 5:37 left in the first half.

But the Golden Eagles responded with a 14-4 run to close out the half. Lockett, Wilson and Blue connected from beyond the arc during the surge to make it 42-29.

After Woodall started the second half with a jumper, Marquette went on a 6-0 spurt. Blue made two free throws and Junior Cadougan connected on a pair of jumpers to give the home team a 48-31 margin.

Pittsburgh cut the gap to 11, 61-50, with 8:11 to play, but the Golden Eagles responded with an 11-4 run. Gardner's layup with 4:20 remaining made it a 72-54 contest.

Game Notes

Marquette leads the all-timer series by a 9-8 margin ... The Golden Eagles shot 56.5 percent from the field and went 22-of-29 from the foul line ... Wilson had eight rebounds.