University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Marquette
Men's Hoops Falls To No. 23 Marquette
1/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 7, 2004
By MICHAEL A. LUTZ
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON - Marquette used its experience to hold off Houston.
Travis Diener was 5-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 22 points to lead the 23rd-ranked Golden Eagles to a 65-52 victory over the Cougars on Wednesday night.
Scott Merritt had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (10-2) in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Houston (6-5) lost to a ranked team for the 18th straight time since beating Memphis in 1996, but they made it close in the second half, pulling within two points late in the game.
"Some of us have been together for three years and we've been in a lot of tough situations," Diener said. "Scott made some great plays and we relied on our poise to help us through this one."
Marquette, which reached the Final Four last season, led 32-23 at halftime after going 7-for-16 from 3-point range.
Houston came out aggressively on defense and pounded inside to start the second half and got within 46-43 with 10:13 to play on a layup by Andre Owens.
"You can see that that team has played together," Owens said. "They kept their poise and did what they had to do to get the job done."
Houston got to 52-50 with 6:34 to play before the Golden Eagles went on a 9-0 run that gave them a 61-50 lead with 3:31 to play.
"I thought we'd have to win this game the way we usually do, with defense and rebounding," Marquette coach Tom Crean said. "We knew coming in it was gong to be a knockdown, dragout fight and that's the way it was. Both of these teams are going to get better."
Marcus Oliver and Owens each had 12 points for the Cougars, who had won five of their previous six games.
Karon Bradley's 3-pointer with 9:51 to play in the first half gave Marquette the lead for good. The Golden Eagles finished 8-for-23 from beyond the arc.
Houston center Anwar Ferguson, second in the nation in blocked shots, had four, all in the first half, increasing his season total to 54.
"They started going outside a lot after I blocked three shots early," Ferguson said. "I'm used to playing more of a helping role."
Diener had four of his 3-pointers in the first half to keep the Golden Eagles in the lead and Merritt had 11 of his 17 points in the second half, including consecutive baskets in a late 9-0 run that iced the game.
"My teammates gave me the ball in positions where I could score," Merritt said. "We don't have anyone averaging 20 points a game, but we've got three or four guys in double figures."
After a slow start this season, Houston coach Ray McCallum likes his team's improvement.
"Everyone knows that's an outstanding team and they proved it again," McCallum said. "We were right there, toe-to-toe with them. (Steve) Novak and Diener are two of the premier 3-point shooters in the country."
