Jan. 23, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Dominic James appears to have found his groove. Coincidentally, so has Marquette.

The sophomore point guard tries to follow up his best game of the season as the 15th-ranked Golden Eagles look to push their winning streak to five games Wednesday when they host Seton Hall.

Considered one of the best returning guards in the country after being named Big East newcomer of the year last season, James has shown flashes of both brilliant and spotty play.

He had a season-high 25 points and seven assists in a Nov. 21 win over Duke, but also went 1-for-15 from 3-point range and 6-for-23 overall from the field as Marquette (17-4, 4-2) lost its first two Big East games and fell out of the Top 25.

But James and the Golden Eagles have regrouped in a big way, winning road games at Connecticut, Louisville and Pittsburgh during their four-game win streak. Marquette is coming off a 77-74 overtime victory at then-No. 6 Pitt on Sunday as James finished with 23 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws with 0.9 seconds to play.

"Ice water was going through my mind at the end. I've never had two free throws to win a game like that," said James, who made seven of eight free throws despite shooting just 64.4 percent from the line this season.

James' resurgence on the perimeter has mirrored his team's improved shooting from beyond the arc. He is 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from 3-point range in the last four games, and the Golden Eagles are shooting at a 40.9 percent clip (27-for-66) in that span.

Prior to the winning streak - Marquette's longest in the Big East since joining the conference last season - James was shooting just 27.9 percent from 3-point range and the team had made just 31.1 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.

Dan Fitzgerald added a season-high 14 points off the bench and made four 3-pointers Sunday for Marquette, which also received 14 points from Wesley Matthews and 12 from Ousmane Barro - who has averaged 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 60.0 percent in his last four games.

Seton Hall (11-7, 3-3) has alternated wins and losses in its last 12 games after a 5-1 start, and the Pirates are trying to end a three-game road losing streak. Bobby Gonzalez's team is looking to bounce back from a 74-58 home loss to Georgetown on Friday in which it was outrebounded 39-11 and allowed 21 second-chance points.

Brian Laing scored 19 points while freshman guard Eugene Harvey was held to nine - almost seven below his season average. Harvey, who Gonzalez recruited heavily after his hire last spring, is averaging 34.8 minutes per game.

Laing leads the team in scoring at 16.9 points a contest and like Harvey, has logged heavy minutes. He has missed just five minutes of Seton Hall's six Big East games and has played the full 40 minutes the last two.

The Pirates have lost their only game against a Top 25 team this season, but have won four of their last six versus ranked opponents, with three of those victories coming on the road.

Marquette won the only meeting between these teams last season, 67-63 at Seton Hall. James had 13 points and four assists, while Laing played just three minutes and did not score for the Pirates.