Jae Crowder's 3 helps Marquette Golden Eagles edge past Washington Huskies 79-77: NCAA Basketball
It is not quite often that there is pin drop silence in the arena and the crowds are on the edge of their seats in the last minute of the game.
That was the case on Tuesday night when Marquette Golden Eagles met the Washington Huskies in what was thriller.
With seconds remaining on the clock and the Eagles trailing by one, Jae Crowder found an open look at the rim and let go of a long range missile that successfully reached the basket, helping Marquette cross the line at 79-77.
Crowder, who also scored 18 points in the game, was thrilled with how the game proceeded and his crucial last strike. He added
"We knew the play we were running from the previous timeout and came up with the situation that when they do score, get it out as quick as possible," Crowder said. "I did that and had a good look. It felt real good."
Eagles Coach Buzz Williams was also mighty excited with the win and Crowder’s performance. Showering praise on Crowder, he added.
"That's my guy. I'll row with that cat no matter where he goes when his career is over. We don't win that game without the character of our group, and Jae and D.J. (Darius Johnson-Odom) have done a great job leading our guys on a daily basis."
Odom was mentioned because he was superb tonight and played vital role in the win by scoring game high 23 points including 9 for 11 from the free throw line. Apart from Crowder and Odom, Vander Blue and Todd Mayo were two other prominent players from Eagles finishing with 11 points each.
Terrence Ross paced the Huskies with 19 points and 9 rebounds. C.J Wilcox accumulated 15 including 3 for 9 from the three-point range while Darnell Gant added another 14.
All the three high scorers from Huskies got their team off to a flyer, contributing in an early 11-2 surge. The opening run helped Huskies dominate the first 10 minutes of the game. However after that Odom, Blue and Crowder scored in quick successions to first eliminate the lead and tie it at 23.
A few minutes later, Eagles got ahead with the help of Jamil Wilson’s Three.
From that point onward, it was a see saw battle and the lead kept on shifting from one side to the other. The scores got tied again at 30 all with two minutes remaining in the first half, but a 7-4 passage keyed by Odom ensured Eagles entered the second frame with an advantage.
Eagles failed to find baskets in the opening minutes of the deciding half which allowed Huskies to get slightly ahead. The game was never open though as both teams kept on finding shots just at the right time. With the scores tied at 75 and less than 30 seconds remaining in the regulation time, the game was headed to overtime.
Odom scored from the free throw line to change the momentum to Eagles side but on the resulting Huskies possession, Ross drilled a wild jumper to capture the advantage yet again. That was the time when Crowder struck a blow right into the hearts of the Huskies.
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