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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Ravonte Dantzler had a happy homecoming.
The former Milwaukee Messmer High School player returned to his
hometown and scored 20 points to lead South Alabama to a 67-54
victory over Marquette on Tuesday night in the first round of the
Preseason NIT.
The Jaguars will play at Indiana, which beat Pepperdine 80-68,
in Friday night's quarterfinals.
"It felt good to come back and play in front of my family and
friends," said Dantzler, a 6-foot-2 senior guard who had 18 points
in the second half.
Virgil Stanecu, a 6-10 center from Romania, added 12 points and
Brett Gravitt had 11 for South Alabama. Stanecu, hampered by foul
trouble, played only 22 minutes, but his teammates made up for his
absence with a tremendous defensive performance.
The Jaguars limited the Golden Eagles to 31.5 percent shooting
(17-for-54), while shooting 48 percent (19-for-47).
"We were very, very fortunate to only be down six at
halftime," Jaguars coach Bob Weltlich said. "We just played out
of sync the last 10 minutes of the first half."
That was when the Golden Eagles used a 20-5 run to rally from a
15-6 deficit.
"We answered the bell and came back after being down a little
bit," Marquette coach Tom Crean said. "We played some very good
basketball in the first half."
Brian Wardle scored 17 points and Cordell Henry had 10 for
Marquette, but the two guards combined to shoot 10-for-32.
"We couldn't get clicking," Wardle said.
Marquette didn't maintain its momentum in the second half and
the Jaguars quickly caught up. South Alabama scored the first six
points of the second half to tie it, before falling behind for the
last time on a field goal by freshman Scott Merritt.
Williams tied it and Emmett Thomas hit a 3-pointer to put the
Jaguars ahead to stay with 15:03 to play. It turned into a decisive
14-3 run and a 42-31 lead.
The Golden Eagles got within 50-42 with 5:33 to play, but the
Jaguars closed it out with free throws down the stretch.
"You've got to credit South Alabama," Wardle said. "They
switched to a zone and played it very well in the second half."
Crean concurred.
"Their quickness gave us trouble," he said. "They did a
tremendous job defensively. They beat us to every loose ball and
tonight our defense was a work in progress."
South Alabama had 12 turnovers in the first half, including
three on its first three possessions, but the Jaguars finished with
only 13.
"Turnovers," Dantzler said, "that was the key to the ballgame
-- only one in the second half."
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