Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

(MCT)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - As shorthanded as they are, the Marquette Golden Eagles played even with the Tennessee Volunteers, one of the deepest teams in college basketball, for 38 minutes Tuesday night.

Problem is, the games last 40.

Saddled with foul trouble from the start and without the manpower in reserve to rescue them, the 24th-ranked Golden Eagles got to within a basket in crunch time before running out of steam and falling to the 16th-ranked Volunteers, 80-68, in the nightcap of the inaugural SEC/Big East Invitational at Nashville's Sommet Center.

MU (8-2), which went scoreless during the final 2 minutes 21 seconds after getting to within 70-68 on a three-pointer by Lazar Hayward, was led by Wesley Matthews' collegiate-high 30 points. Hayward chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Eagles in a game that featured a staggering 54 fouls and 71 free throws.

"At no point in the game and at no point in the season do we ever feel like we're out of a game, with as much firepower we have and how aggressive we are on defense, and with how quickly something can happen," Matthews said. "We just buckled down as a team, locked in and said, 'This isn't over with.' "

Wayne Chism scored 21 of his collegiate-high 26 points in the second half for Tennessee (7-2) and grabbed 11 rebounds. Tyler Smith added 14 points and Bobby Maze 10 for the Volunteers, who limited MU to just 37.5 percent shooting and connected on 49.0 percent themselves.

The Golden Eagles hung tough early in the second half, giving the Volunteers their first real look at some presses and traps. On offense, it was all Matthews as he scored MU's first seven points on a pair of layups and three free throws.

A steal and layup by James tied the score at 41-41 with 13:27 left but things then began to swing in Tennessee's favor. First, the Volunteers got a three-pointer by Renaldo Woolridge on the ensuing possession to make it 44-41, and then McNeal was whistled for a charge. That gave him four fouls and sent him to the bench with about 13 minutes to go.

At that point, coach Buzz Williams finally broke out the 1-3-1 zone he'd flashed against Wisconsin. The switch from man-to-man rattled Tennessee initially, and a little less than 3 minutes later the Golden Eagles had jumped back into the lead at 48-46.

But again, the momentum swung back in Tennessee's favor. First, James fouled Chism - a 6-foot-9 center - as he was attempting a three with the shot clock winding down, sending him to the free-throw line. Then, at the 9:18 mark, James was whistled for a technical foul after he missed a shot and Dwight Burke was called for a foul.

"I didn't hear it," Williams said. "I was looking the other way trying to figure out if we were in the bonus or not. So whatever he said, he said it was quick, it was powerful, and it was deserving of a technical, because that's what he called."

Tennessee hit all four free throws to make it 54-48. With few other options at that point and the game in danger of slipping away, Williams reinserted McNeal at the 7:49 mark, but it made little difference.

Over a span of 2:08, Chism tipped in a miss, scored on a dunk and drained a deep three. McNeal scored on a pretty drive to make it 65-60 but picked up a silly foul on the other end, sending him to the bench for good with 5:33 left.

The Golden Eagles didn't quit, though, and after rattling off six quick points found themselves within striking distance at 70-68 with 2:22 left after Hayward banged in his three from the top of the key.

That would be the last basket they'd manage, however, and after Josh Tabb answered with a three of his own at the 2:04 mark, the game was over, for all intents and purposes.

A quick 6-0 run by the Volunteers got them back into the lead for the first time since the opening minute at 24-23. The two teams went back and forth from there, with a putback by Chism giving Tennessee its biggest lead of the first half at 32-29 at the 1:31 mark.

MU answered with a fall-away three from the left wing by Matthews as the shot clock expired to make it 32-32 with 19.9 seconds left. That was the Golden Eagles' first three in more than 11 minutes, but enabled them to head into intermission even with the Volunteers.