Big East recap 12/18 & 12/19

Despite 21 turnovers Hayward’s career night leads Golden Eagles past Richmond

Lazar Hayward scored a career-high 27 points as Marquette ran away to a 94-77 victory over Western Carolina on Friday night. Hayward provided the fireworks in a decisive 12-4 Marquette run midway through the first half, powering the Golden Eagles (9-2) to a 20-point lead and quickly putting the game out of reach for the Catamounts (5-4). Jerel McNeal scored 19 and Wesley Matthews added 18 for Marquette, which made a strong recovery from its loss at Tennessee on Tuesday night.Three of the Catamounts reached double digits in scoring. Brandon Giles tallied 17 points and five rebounds, Harouna Mutombo scored 12 points, four assists and three steals, and Brigham Waginger had 12 on 4-7 shooting, but it was Hayward’s night.Hayward, a junior forward who leads the team in rebounding but often takes a back seat to the Golden Eagles' senior guards when it comes to scoring, is coming off big games in Marquette's recent victories over Wisconsin and Indiana-PFW.

> Buy NCAA apparel online through Big East Fans!

Vaughn’s hot start downs Mississippi State

Deonta Vaughn led his Cincinnati Bearcats to their eighth win of the season with 16 points on 6-14 shooting over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Thursday night’s 75-63 victory.

The Bearcats (8-2) had two other starters in double digits in Yancy Gates with 12 points and nine rebounds and Dion Dixon with 14 points.

“They're kind of streaky,” Bulldogs Head Coach Rick Stansbury said. “They didn't make very many (three pointers) in the first 13 or 14 minutes. They finished the half with four or five in the last five minutes. That's what happens when you get on a roll like that. That's not unusual for him.” Jarvis Varnado scored a career-high 24 points for Mississippi State (7-4). Vaughn, one of the Big East's best shooting guards, took over the game long enough to make a difference. Vaughn led the 20-2 run that closed the first half and put the Bearcats ahead 47-29. Vaughn made four 3-pointers and a driving bank shot in the spurt, scoring 14 points in 4 minutes. He finished with 16 points and six assists.

#9 Louisville keeps Kennedy’s Rebels down

The Ole Miss Rebels had a rough 24 hours. First, Head Coach Andy Kennedy was arrested Wednesday night for verbally and physically assaulting a taxi cab driver. Kennedy’s statement to the media acknowledged he would be exonerated. It isn’t yet to be determined if Kennedy will be exonerated like he expects, but what could have expected was that his team would be physically abused on the court by Louisville.

Louisville forward Earl Clark had career highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds and the ninth-ranked Cardinals held off the Rebels 77-68 on Thursday night.

“It was an easy game that we could have lost,” Clark said. “We could have hung our heads and started pointing the finger and not be intense. But we stuck with it and played defense and got stops at the end of the game.”

Samardo Samuels added nine points and 13 rebounds and Terrence Williams had seven points, 11 rebounds and four assists as Louisville held the Rebels to one field goal over the final 7:31.

The Cardinals needed the stops after the Rebels rallied from an 18-point deficit behind guards David Huertas and Chris Warren. Huertas scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half and Warren added 18, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 67 with 5:31 to play.

It would be Mississippi's last field goal as Louisville closed the game with a 10-1 run. Clark started it with a layup, Edgar Sosa followed with a 3-pointer and Louisville's defense, ranked fifth in the nation in points allowed, made it hold up.

By Al Buzzelli
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer

> More Big East basketball news & headlines

> Follow the Big East Basketball Tournament online with Big East Fans!