Box Score
MILWAUKEE – Marquette's Davante Gardner came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points, including consecutive buckets that helped the Golden Eagles pull away from a two-point lead and defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 64-53, on Tuesday at the Bradley Center.
Chris Otule scored 10 points for Marquette (2-0), which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year, while Jamil Wilson grabbed seven rebounds. The Golden Eagles led 32-29 at halftime before shooting 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) in the second half to pull away to the win.
Marquette led 52-41 with 8:09 remaining in the game before Southeastern (0-2) chipped away at the lead. A pair of free throws and a bucket by
Jeffery Ricard, who led Southeastern with 11 points, quickly cut the lead to 52-45 before
Dre Evans drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to close the gap to 52-48.
Southeastern closed to within two points twice, the last coming on a free throw by
Jan Petrovcic with 4:13 remaining, but Gardner followed with a basket to put Marquette ahead, 55-51 with 4:05 left and a layup off a pick-and-roll that pushed the lead to 57-51 with 3:22 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Trent Lockett and a three-point play by Wilson gave the Golden Eagles a 62-51 lead with 1:07 left and after Ricard sank a pair of free throws, Lockett iced the game with a dunk off an assist by Gardner.
Marquette built a 10-point lead in the first half after a jumper by Otule gave the Golden Eagles a 28-18 lead with 3:00 remaining.
Todd Nelson scored seven points, including a four-point play at the 2:36 mark of the first half, in an 11-4 run that closed the gap to 32-29 at the break.
Southeastern took its first lead of the game when a layup by Ricard gave the Lions a 35-34 lead with 17:44 remaining and again with 16:45 remaining when
Roosevelt Johnson tipped in his own miss for a 37-36 advantage. But Gardner gave Marquette the lead for good on the following possession with a layup with 16:32 remaining and the Golden Eagle defense would buckle down eventually holding Southeaster to without a field goal for the final 6:05 of the game.
Brandon Fortenberry, playing in his second game since suffering a season-ending foot injury last year, scored nine points for Southeastern while Evans added eight points and a team-high five assists. Petrovcic pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for Southeastern, which was playing its first Big East opponent since facing nationally-ranked Pitt in the 2002-03 season.
Southeastern will conclude its season-opening three-game roadtrip on Thursday when it visits New Mexico State in a 9 p.m. CST contest in Las Cruces, N.M.
