Marquette rains threes down on St. John’s in win

St. John’s rolled into Milwaukee on Wednesday night with the hope of keeping their winning streak up. The Johnnies heading had been on a late season revival which saw four straight wins on the trot and a lot of confidence brimming that the Johnnies could be on the way up with a promising close to the season.

Among those four wins was one against Marquette 11 days ago, meaning that if St. John’s were to defeat them again, the Golden Eagles would be the only Big East team to lose both of their games to St. John’s this season.

In the end though, it was not meant to be. Marquette shot the lights out of the BMO Harris Bradley Center by a score of 85-73. Everything seemed to click for the Golden Eagles, as if it was a golden moment for their offense. Every pass and movement seemed to happen with seamless transition, especially on interior to exterior movement in getting the ball to his perimeter shooters. Who put on a clinic in 3-point shooting.

The golden boy was Sam Hauser, who had a quite the night, putting up 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and a stellar 5-of-7 from 3-point range. bBut he was not the only player on Marquette tonight that had a hot hand. Andrew Rowsey had a rousing night of 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Rowsey having big nights is nothing new, as he has been a steady hot hand for the last three games. Sacar Amin, Jamal Cain, and Greg Elliott all had 11-point efforts, as well. Matt Heldt, though not as active in the points department, did collect a game-high 10 rebounds tonight.

The Johnnies held their own for a good portion of the game, but in the end, could not keep up with Marquette’s offense. The limitations of a lack of depth once again came back to haunt the Johnnies over the span of the rest of the game all while getting good play and minutes from the starters tonight. Bryan Trimble Jr. in particular had a solid night tonight 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 from the beyond the arc.

Trimble had been in a offensive funk with not much to write on about his play, but he shined on Wednesday night. It might have been the shoes though as he was sporting this lovely alligator green sneakers tonight on the court.

Shamorie Ponds also had a good outing, with 19 points as well, tying Trimble for the team lead. But compared to some of the games he has had recently, he felt a bit off. He also tied for the lead in assists with Justin Simon, as both had excellent nights in moving the ball up and around the court. Speaking of Simon, he had another great night with 14 points. Marvin Clark II meanwhile, finished with 12.

With the exception of Trimble, the scoring was from the usual faces. While this is great for consistency, it does showcase the limitations of this team in not having other options to call on, with the exception of the one off game every now and them from one their rotation players.

With the streak over, St. John’s now turns their attention to starting a new streak against Seton Hall this weekend. Marquette, meanwhile, will take on DePaul with the hopes of a strong finish to the season.