Wooden Legacy Bracket (PDF)
Fullerton, Calif., November 28 - Jamil Wilson scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half to lead No. 25-ranked Marquette (4-2) to an 86-66 victory over outmanned Cal State Fullerton (2-4) in Thursday's second game of the DirecTV Wooden Legacy in Titan Gym at Cal State Fullerton.
Wilson made 10 of 14 field goal attempts and also grabbed 9 rebounds as Marquette doubled up the Titans in rebounding, 40-20. The Golden Eagles advance to the second round where they will play George Washington, an earlier 71-63 winner in overtime over Miami.
Jajuan Johnson and Davante Gardner each added 18 points for Marquette, which shot 56 percent for the game including 44 percent at the 3-point line.
Fullerton was led by guard Michael Williams with 16 points. Marquis Horne added 13 points and Josh Gentry had 11 but no Titan had more than 5 rebounds.
"Offensive rebounding and points in transition are always our points of emphasis," said Wilson, "and today we took advantage of our size."
Marquette had 15 offensive rebounds, the same number of defensive caroms collected by the Titans, who are hosting the first two days of the tournament. Sunday's games will be played at Honda Center in Anaheim.
The Golden Eagles opened the second half with an 18-6 run to build a lead of 25 points at 66-41 with 12:24 to play. The advantage stayed between 19 and 26 points the rest of the way.
"It was good to see Jamil come alive today," said Marquette Coach Buzz Williams. "Our confidence is growing because we are learning to play the right way." Fullerton stayed within reach for most of the first half by making 7 of 11 3-point tries but still trailed at the half, 48-35, when Wilson hit a trey to beat the buzzer. The Golden Eagles used a 16-5 run to break away from a tie at 11 at the 14-minute mark. The Titans got as close as 6 points before Marquette closed the half with a 10-3 run.
"I was proud of our effort and we had great energy in the first half," said Fullerton first-year Coach Dedrique Taylor. "We just got worn down. Their size bothered us inside. "I'm sure their game plan was to exploit that… we didn't have an answer for that."
Fullerton played its third consecutive game without its leading scorer, guard Alex Harris (17.7 points per game), who is day-to-day due to an ankle injury.
The Titans will return to action at 3 p.m., Friday playing Miami in the sixth game of the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy.
Notes: Cal State Fullerton played its third straight game without leading scorer Alex Harris, who is listed as day-to-day with a right ankle sprain…Marquette was the first school to outscore Cal State Fullerton in the paint this season, 42-24…the Titans lost their third straight game, the team's longest losing streak since dropping the final five games of the 2012-13 season (Feb. 28-March 14, 2013)...Cal State Fullerton opponent season highs set by Marquette: points (86) and field goals made (34)…Marquette marked the first top-25 opponent Cal State Fullerton has played this season.
