Centenary 52 Marquette 81

The Marquette Golden Eagles' search for a complete 40 minutes of quality basketball continues.

Despite facing a completely overmatched team in Centenary that next year will drop to Division III, MU got off to a slow start Saturday and spun its wheels for far too long before finally playing well enough to pull away and notch an 81-52 win at the Bradley Center.

Darius Johnson-Odom and Vander Blue each scored 16 points, freshman Jamail Jones scored a career-high 11 and Jimmy Butler put up his fifth career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds despite battling cramps in the second half as MU (8-3) bounced back from its loss to Wisconsin.

None, however, could provide any sort of spark in the first half as the Golden Eagles slogged their way to just a 12-point lead at the intermission and allowed the Gentlemen (0-12) to pull to within 39-30 in the opening 2 minutes of the second half before finally coming alive and pulling away with some quality play.

It's an issue that's reared its head for far too long for coach Buzz Williams, and one that must be rectified sooner than later with his team's Big East opener looming Jan. 1.

“We've run out of time to be able to continue to play some good, some bad,” Williams said. “We've got to start playing more good than bad, and I think we will. We just haven't had the consistency that we have to have on a daily basis. Injuries is a part of that, youth is a part of that, immaturity is a part of that.

“We've just got to figure all that out.”

Williams was forced to shuffle his starting lineup again when it was learned before the game that freshman point guard Reggie Smith was ill. Considered an energy player, Smith might have helped as MU was slow out of the gate and wound up committing nine turnovers to Centenary's eight in the first half.

Statistically, the Golden Eagles weren't awful: 44.8% shooting, a 24-9 advantage on the boards and seven assists on 13 field goals. But the intensity was lacking in a big way, leaving Williams searching for answers as he cut short his halftime speech and brought his team out to the court much earlier than normal in preparation for the second half.

“I've been trying to figure it out,” he said. “What I told them at halftime is what I'm telling you guys: 'I can't figure this out, and I really want to figure it out. I don't have nothing else to say, so let's go.' ”

Williams tweaked his lineup to start the second half, replacing starters Johnson-Odom, Dwight Buycks and Jae Crowder with Junior Cadougan and usual deep reserves Jones and Erik Williams.

Right off the bat, Jones had back-to-back turnovers but then redeemed himself somewhat with a three-pointer before the Gentlemen cut the deficit to nine with 18 minutes 18 seconds remaining.

From that point, the Golden Eagles went on a 12-0 spurt to regain control at 51-30 and a little while later strung together an 11-2 run. Sparked by the hustle of Blue and successful penetration by Johnson-Odom, MU finally began displaying a sense of urgency.

“I think we were trying to do a little too much in the first half,” Johnson-Odom said. “In the second half we stopped thinking and were more clutter-free as a team, which allowed us to play like us.”

When it was all said and done, MU had gotten points from every healthy player and some career-best performances from youngsters like Jones (3 for 4 from three-point range in 11 minutes) and Williams (seven points, 10 rebounds in 23 minutes).

So, there were some positives. But at some point in the very near future, the Golden Eagles will need to figure it out and start bringing it for a full 40 minutes.

“I tell them, 'I can be nice, I can be crazy, I can be fun, I can be mute,' ” Williams said. “ 'I can hug you. I can't hit you. But how can I help you?' And it's like they know, and that's part of it.

“At least knowing what the problem is helps. It's not like they're in denial. They know it, they feel it. We're an instinctive team.”