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James, Marquette use big second half to rout IPFW

Dec 18, 2007 - 5:44 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Marquette recovered from some early poor shooting and used a key second-half run to blow past Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Dominic James had 17 points, six assists and Wesley Matthews added 15 points and nine rebounds as the 13th-ranked Golden Eagles surged past the Mastodons, 80-56, on Monday.

Lazar Hayward chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles, who shot 36 percent (12-of-33), in the first half but made 61 percent (19-of-31) of their shots in the second half.

For James, it was his second-best shooting game of the season - going 7-of-14 from the floor - as his Marquette team got off to a slow start in its second game of a five-game home stand.

The Golden Eagles (8-1) missed 10 of their first 12 shots but still held a 9-2 lead less than six minutes into the game due to their defense.

IPFW missed its first five shots to start the game and then missed 12 straight over a six-minute stretch as Marquette scored nine consecutive points to take a 22-10 lead with 5:29 left in the first half.

However, after trailing by 11 at intermission, the Mastodons used an 8-2 run after the break to close within 31-26 early in the second half. But Marquette answered with a 14-2 run, making 5-of-6 shots from the field to open up a 45-28 advantage with 13:48 to play.

James and Matthews combined to score all of the Golden Eagles' points on a 10-0 spurt later in the second half as Marquette opened a 66-40 bulge with 7:49 to play.

Jaraun Burrows scored 13 points for IPFW (4-6), which shot 34 percent (23-of-67) and only made 3-of-16 attempts from the arc for the game.

Demetrius Johnson added 12 for the Mastodons, who have lost two straight games - both to ranked opponents - after a three-game winning streak.