Marquette's sharpshooters overcome early foul trouble against Wisconsin

Ben Steele
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - The story is familiar to anyone who has watched this Marquette basketball team. 

When the Golden Eagles are shooting lights-out on three-pointers, it covers up a lot of mistakes. 

That was case again Saturday when MU (7-3) was 14 of 22 from beyond the arc in an 82-63 victory over Wisconsin (4-7) at the Kohl Center. 

The usual suspects provided the sharpshooting from long distance: senior guard Andrew Rowsey was 5 of 6, sophomore guard Markus Howard 4 of 9 and sophomore wing Sam Hauser was 4 of 5.

Freshman wing Jamal Cain was the only other MU player to attempt a three-pointer, finishing 1 of 2.

Marquette's Markus Howard goes to the basket against Wisconsin's Ethan Happ on Saturday.

But Golden Eagles coach Steve Wojciechowski had to constantly juggle his lineups with Rowsey and Howard battling foul trouble.

"The fact of the matter is we need one of those two kids on the court at all times for our offense to run, for our team to run," Wojciechowski said. "We were hoping we could escape the first half with neither of them getting three fouls. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that. Some of that was within our control."

The coach was referring to Rowsey's technical foul at the 12:41 mark of the first half. Rowsey gave UW's Aaron Moesch a small push after the MU guard bit on a pump fake and fouled Brad Davison. 

"They were just saying that was my move and one of the players started jawing in my ear, so I just kind of shoved him away. Which I shouldn't have done and I apologize for that," Rowsey said. 

Rowsey was subbed out but he checked back in about three minutes later. His third foul came with 7:52 left before halftime.

Howard was able to shoulder the scoring load with Rowsey on the bench. He had 16 points in the first 20 minutes, including 3-of-7 shooting on three-pointers. 

However, Howard also had two fouls in the first half. That loomed large with Rowsey still on the bench at the start of the second half. It was also the third straight game that Howard has gotten two fouls in the first half.

RELATED: Marquette 82, Wisconsin 63: Golden Eagles shoot down Badgers

Howard was then whistled for his third foul just 1:11 minutes after halftime and MU leading, 41-35.

Rowsey was put back in the game and promptly took over. He scored 18 points in the second half, shooting 3 of 4 on threes and also going 7 of 7 on free throws.

"I knew coming into the second half that I would be a little stiff and tired from not playing that much in the first half," Rowsey said. "But I just trusted my teammates and trusted how Coach was letting us play on offense."

Howard came back in at the 12:51 mark and didn't get called for another foul. His step-back three-pointer gave MU a 77-56 lead with 3:37 remaining and extinguished any hope UW held.

Soon after that, MU's "Big Three" were celebrating on the bench in the waning seconds of a victory over their in-state rival.

"It was Sam's birthday yesterday, so I was just telling him 'Happy birthday,' " Rowsey said with a laugh.

The trio combined for 63 of MU's 82 points, another running theme of the season.

It was the first win at the Kohl Center for the two sophomores and the senior who transferred from UNC-Asheville.

 "This is such a coveted rivalry," Howard said. "Just going through this week of preparation, we worked so hard. I think me and our team really just wanted to come out with a win and we wanted to do whatever it took to do that. 

"So it means a lot coming on the road, this being our first road game, and really just executing the game plan well."