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No. 17 Marquette has rare meeting vs. Eastern Michigan

Nov 18, 2006 - 3:56 PM Eastrn Michigan (1-2) at No. 17 Marquette (3-0) 2:00 pm EST

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Marquette guard Dominic James is showing he does not believe in the sophomore jinx.

Last season's Big East Rookie of the Year, James looks to lead the 17th-ranked Golden Eagles to their fourth victory in as many games Saturday when they meet Eastern Michigan for the first time in 38 campaigns.

A unanimous preseason all-conference selection, the 5-11 James is averaging 16.7 points and four rebounds in his first three contests. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Milwaukee Region of the CBE Classic.

James made 8-of-15 shots to score 20 points, Wesley Matthews added 15 and Lazar Hayward 14 for Marquette in Tuesday's 87-45 rout of Detroit.

The Golden Eagles shot 55 percent (32-of-58) from the floor against Detroit, a dramatic improvement over Monday's overtime win over Idaho State, when they went just 29 percent (19-of-65) from the floor.

Eastern Michigan has lost two of its first three games, including Sunday's 80-51 defeat to Michigan at the John Thompson Challenge.

Devon Dumes scored 14 points and Kyle Dodd added 10 for the Eagles, who shot just 25 percent (7-of-28) in the first half and trailed by 30 points at the break. They also were outrebounded, 41-30, and committed 20 turnovers.

Sophomore guard Carlos Medlock was named to the tournament team after averaging 14.7 points and collecting 14 steals and 12 assists in three outings. He was also selected Player of the Week of the Mid-American Conference's West Division.

Marquette won the only previous encounter, 82-58, on February 8, 1969.