Charity basketball scrimmage a win for both MU, UWM

Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee haven’t faced each other in a men’s basketball game since 2011, and there haven’t been any truly substantive discussions about re-starting the series in the coming years.

But the city’s two Division I programs got together anyway for what turned out to be a productive Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center.

Scrimmaging in front of 2,108 fans, the two teams learned a little bit more about themselves with the start of the regular season just around the corner while also generating almost $35,000 for the Red Cross that will be earmarked for hurricane relief.

Sam Hauser's 27-point, 10-rebound outing propelled the Golden Eagles to a 78-63 victory over the Panthers, who are playing for their third coach in three seasons in former Northwestern assistant Pat Baldwin.

"For us, service is such a big part of our program that it was a no-brainer," MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said of the event.

"To add to that is having such a young team and to get them in front of a crowd against another Division I opponent would be a great opportunity. Milwaukee was one of the first teams that came to mind. I've known Pat; he worked for one of my good friends, Chris Collins, at Northwestern.

"I called Pat and said, 'Hey, if we can get this approved, would you be interested? I think it'd be for a great cause. It'd be great for my team because it's so young and for your team because you're new and the city because they want to see Marquette and Milwaukee play.'

"I'm very thankful that Dr. (Michael) Lovell (MU president), (athletic director) Bill Scholl and the Milwaukee administration allowed us to do this."

Markus Howard added 13 points and Andrew Rowsey 12 and 11 assist for MU, which was actually out-shot by UWM, 42.3% to 40.3%, but knocked down 11 three-pointers to the Panthers' four and enjoyed a plus-16 advantage on the boards.

"This was great for us, to come out here and get an opportunity to play against a quality opponent like Marquette, and be in a situation where the lights are on and the fans are out and a little bit louder," Baldwin said.

"I think our guys acquitted themselves pretty well today. This was great for us."

Play was disjointed at times, which is to be expected this early in the season. UWM took advantage of MU's offensive struggles and grabbed an early lead before a 10-2 run gave the Golden Eagles a 26-19 lead with 4 minutes 45 seconds remaining in the first half.

MU took a five-point lead into halftime, used an 8-2 run early in the second half to put a little distance between the teams and then slowly pulled away.

The one constant for MU was Hauser, the 6-foot-8 sophomore swingman from Stevens Point, who hit 9 of 15 shots overall and 5 of 9 three-pointers. He also added three steals and three blocks to his tally in 35 minutes of action.

"Sam's a really good player, and we need him to continue to be impressive," said Wojciechowski. "He's a real key guy for us. Last year, he could kind of play off others; this year we need him to be real aggressive."

Among MU's newcomers, freshman big man Theo John stood out with a nine-point, seven-rebound outing in 22 minutes that saw him grab all seven of his boards on the offensive end.

UWM got 15 points and six rebounds from senior center Brett Prahl, and junior guard Brock Stull came close to registering a triple-double with eight points, eight rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes.

Junior-college transfer Vance Johnson also acquitted himself well despite foul trouble, scoring nine points for a team that needs his size and athleticism up front.

The Panthers committed 21 turnovers, however, leading to 20 points for the Golden Eagles.

"The greatest takeaway, for me, is that our guys played hard," Baldwin said. "Hopefully that shows itself in the film. But they played hard, they showed a lot of aggressiveness and they weren't afraid."