No. 18 Marquette rallies to upend DePaul
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| DePaul's Moses Morgan falls over the back of Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom while trying to block his shot during the first half Monday in Rosemont. Morgan injured his head and left the game. (AP Photo/Charles Cherney) |
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ROSEMONT – Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 points, and Jamil Wilson added 18 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 18 Marquette to an 89-76 victory over DePaul on Monday.
With Marquette trailing, 41-29, Johnson-Odom scored nine points during an 11-2 run by the Golden Eagles (20-5 overall, 9-3 Big East) to close the first half. He opened the second half by hitting a three-pointer that tied the score at 43, and Jae Crowder gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game with a free throw. Vander Blue hit a jumper to cap a 16-3 run to open the second half and give Marquette a 56-46 lead.
Marquette rebounded from a blowout loss to Notre Dame on Saturday that ended a seven-game winning streak.
Cleveland Melvin scored 22 points, and Jamee Crockett added 17 for DePaul (11-12, 2-9), which has lost 36 consecutive games against ranked opponents since beating No. 17 Villanova, 84-76, on Jan. 3, 2008.
DePaul played long spans with starting guard Brandon Young on the bench. DePaul coach Oliver Purnell was visibly upset with Young at times.
DePaul lost forward Moses Morgan midway through the first half with a concussion.
Morgan, trying to guard Johnson-Odom, flipped over Johnson-Odom's back and landed on his head. Morgan was down for several minutes and was observed by team trainers and paramedics for several minutes before walking to the bench and then heading to the locker room. He returned to the bench later in the first half. Morgan missed Saturday's loss to Cincinnati after he fainted in practice Thursday.
Despite playing on the road, Marquette was backed by a strong contingent of Golden Eagles fans, who were not heard from much until late in the first half.
Johnson-Odom and Crowder, were limited to 12 and four points by Notre Dame. But Johnson-Odom was aggressive from the start and Crowder finished with 14 points and Blue had 12.
Davante Gardner, who normally starts for the Golden Eagles, was sidelined for the third straight game with a knee injury.
Marquette has won six of the past seven in the series, but lost, 51-50, in its last trip to Allstate Arena in 2010. Mike Stovall hit a jumper off a loose ball with 0.7 seconds
remaining to help DePaul end a 24-game Big East regular-season losing streak.
The Blue Demons are 3-38 in the Big East since.
Leading 26-25, DePaul scored 11 straight points. Melvin scored seven points in the span, including a 3-pointer that put DePaul up 37-25.
Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, who used to manage the Chicago White Sox, watched the game with his two sons from courtside seats.
