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James, Marquette rout Coppin State

Dec 22, 2007 - 6:20 AM MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Marquette's fast start led to another easy home victory.

Dominic James and Jerel McNeal each scored 18 points as the 13th-ranked Golden Eagles trounced lowly Coppin State, 89-42, on Friday.

Lazar Hayward added 17 points for Marquette (9-1), which won its fifth straight game and improved to 6-0 at home. The Golden Eagles have also had no recent trouble at the Bradley Center, winning their last four home games by an average of 34.3 points.

James and Hayward combined for the game's first 10 points as the Golden Eagles never looked back after taking a 10-0 lead 2:41 into the contest.

Marquette made eight of its first nine shots and led by double digits for the majority of the game. McNeal's 3-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 29-10 lead with 8:31 to go in the first half, and Marquette held a 19-point lead at the break led by James' 10 points.

James added a season-high eight assists and shot 6-of-10 from the field, while McNeal was 4-of-5 from the floor and had six assists for the game.

The Golden Eagles used a 22-0 run midway through the second half to further blow the game open, taking a 71-33 lead with 8:43 remaining. Coppin State went without a field goal for over seven minutes during the stretch, missing all seven attempts from the floor.

Marquette outscored Coppin State, 46-18, for the second half and shot 56 percent from the field (28-of-50) overall.

Coppin State (3-9) shot just 15-of-53 (28 percent) from the field and committed 20 turnovers during the contest.

Brian Chesnut scored 13 points to lead the Eagles, who have lost seven straight games, and failed to score at least 50 points for the fourth straight contest.

Coppin State's leading scorer Tywain McKee - who came into the game averaging over 17 points per contest - was held to just two points in 22 minutes, while not attempting a shot from the floor.

The Eagles have no time to dwell on the loss as they travel to No. 14 Indiana for a 12:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.