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Marquette Takes 2011 Paradise Jam Men’s Championship

After beating Norfolk State a week ago by 31 points, the Marquette Golden Eagles faced off against the Spartans once again Monday night for the championship game in this year’s Paradise Jam men’s basketball tournament.

Marquette came out as the aggressor and before the Spartans knew it, the Golden Eagles had a 16 point lead after a Darius Johnson-Odom three pointer put the score at 27-11, but unlike a week ago, the Spartans weren’t going to let Marquette blow them out: in quick succession, a Marcos Tamares layup, followed by a jumper from Kyle O’Quinn and two free throws from Pendarvis Williams, cut the lead to 10. Now, with under two minutes in the first half, Marquette’s Jamil Wilson turned the ball over, which led to a Rodney McCauley layup that brought the lead down to single digits, 29-21, Marquette.

With about 39 seconds left in the half, Marquette’s Junior Cadougan got a layup that pushed the lead back to 12, but as time was running out, Norfolk State’s Brandon Wheeless hit a three and Marquette took a 33-24 lead into the break.

To start the second half, O’Quinn hit a three as the shot clock was expiring, to bring Norfolk State as close as six, 33-27. Both teams went back and forth until the 11:46 mark, when a Jae Crowder three pointer pushed Marquette’s lead back to 14, 47-33, but as the trend of the night, Norfolk State would rally to make it close again: O’Quinn’s tip-in off of A.J. Rogers miss, followed by a Jamel Fuentes layup off of a steal, cut the lead back to with 10. A few possessions later, Fuentes’ three pointer brought the lead to seven, 47-40.

With about 7:00 to go in the game, Marquette’s Wilson made one of two free throws to make the score 52-43. From there, the Spartans would make a push: a Tamares three made it a six point game, 52-46, while a few possessions later, a Chris McEachin layup made it a four point game. Two free throws from Williams cut the deficit to two, 50-52. On the next possession, a turnover from Marquette’s Cadougan led to a McEachin layup that knotted the score at 52.

Marquette hit a few free throws to push the lead to three, but a few possessions later, a Fuentes layup brought the Spartans within one. Marquette’s Davante Gardner answered with a layup of his own, pushing the lead back to three. Spartans’ Williams delivered a three pointer with about two minutes left in the game, it was tied again, this time at 57 and a time out was taken.

Coming out of the time out, Marquette’s Vander Blue found Crowder down below for a dunk, putting the Golden Eagles up by two, 59-57. With seconds left on the clock, O’Quinn missed a three pointer and McEachin got the rebound, but also missed the jumper as time expired, giving Marquette the 2011 Paradise Jam men’s championship title.

Marquette’s Johnson-Odom finished the game with 20 points, followed by Crowder with 14 and 11 rebounds. For Norfolk State, O’Quinn and McEachin both finished with 10 points.

In the third place game, Mississippi State beat TCU 80-69. The loss gave TCU fifth place in the tournament. In the fourth place game, Virginia beat Drake 60-52, putting Drake in sixth place. And in the seventh place game, Drexel beat Winthrop 68-45.

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