Wisconsin falls to Marquette in intense OT game

Marquette 74

Wisconsin 69

Milwaukee, WI ~ In an in state battle at the brand new Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee, the Marquette Golden Eagles bested a talented Wisconsin Badgers squad 74-69 in an intense game that reached overtime.

The difference in the game came down to the clutch plays that Marquette was able to make down they stretch, and the ones the Badgers weren’t able to in the late stages of the game and OT.  Wisconsin had plenty of opportunities to tie the game after six straight Marquette missed free throws in overtime, but were ultimately unable to score, and ended up losing, 74-69.

Wisconsin made only 5 of the 24 three point tries they attempted, and 10 of their 21 free throw attempts. Those statistics come up huge in a close, back and forth game, and it surely impacted the outcome of the contest. One more made free throw, and the Badgers win the game, instead of losing in overtime.

Ethan Happ was a dominant force, leading Wisconsin with 34 points, and had 11 rebounds. Nate Reuvers added 11 points, while D’Mitrik Trice chipped in  10. Trice grabbed seven rebounds, and dished five assists, but went only 1-6 from beyond the arc.

Just like the Badgers, Marquette didn’t shoot well from the field, as they went 35.4 on the day, but they won the rebounding battle 41-36.

For Marquette, Markus Howard led with 27 points, and he made 12 out of his 15 free throws, killing the Badgers late in the game. Sam Hauser added 13 points for the Eagles to go along with 15 rebounds.

At halftime, Wisconsin led 33-32, rebounding after a very slow start. In four out of their first five possessions, they committed turnovers, and seven on the half.

During the second half, Wisconsin had a six point lead, but were never able close the gap. The Golden Eagles fought back, and the two teams traded leads until 1:49 in the game. Each team had chances to score and take the lead in the last stretch of the game, but were unable to  do so.

In overtime, Marquette jumped out to a four point lead before Khalil Iverson cut the lead to two after sinking both of his free throws. Marquette then made it a four point game again, and the Badgers struggled to generate an offense, falling to the hands of their rivals for the second straight year.

By Jacob Szczap