LSU upsets Marquette
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, December 20, 2011
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Ralston Turner’s clutch long-range shooting and LSU’s hustling defense put an end to No. 10 Marquette’s unbeaten run.
Turner scored 22 points and LSU extended its winning streak to five games while handing Marquette its first loss of the season, 67-59 on Monday night.
Turner hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final 4 minutes to give the Tigers the lead and added two free throws to make it 60-54 with 1:19 to go. Justin Hamilton then closed out a 13-point performance by making seven free throws in the last 53 seconds to ensure the Tigers (8-3) held off a comeback attempt by the Golden Eagles (10-1).
Jae Crowder scored 22 points for Marquette, which raced to a 13-0 lead in the first 3:30 before LSU settled down and stormed back to take the lead with 7:50 to go in the first half.
Marquette, which came in shooting nearly 50 percent on the season, was trying to improve to 11-0 for the first time since 1972-73. LSU responded by packing the inside with defenders and Marquette was uncharacteristically unable to hit shots, connecting only 36.2 percent (21 of 58).
The Golden Eagles attempted 23 3-pointers, hitting only 8.
LSU took mostly high percentage shots and made 53.5 percent (23 of 43), far above their 39 percent mark for the season.
Storm Warren scored 10 points for LSU, all in the first half. The Tigers outrebounded Marquette 35-32 and held a 22-18 advantage in scoring inside.