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Marquette wins again in overtime

NEWARK, N.J. — After playing three straight overtime games, Marquette was breathing a sigh of relief on Sunday.

Not only did the Golden Eagles win all three, they may also have punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Lazar Hayward scored 23 points and Marquette found overtime very comfortable again, posting a 84-83 decision over Seton Hall on Sunday.

“All we were thinking was here we go again,” Hayward said after Marquette (19-9,

10-6 Big East) won for the eighth time in nine games. “It was the third game, the third time we went to overtime and all on the road. But now it’s just like a normal feeling for us. We’re not even nervous. We can say we are tough.”

And they are getting contributions from a lot of people.

All five starters reached double figures with Jimmy Butler getting five of his 13 points in the extra session and David Cubillan, who hit a three-pointer to start the overtime, and Maurice Acker adding four apiece.

“It’s been a draining week, playing three games on the road, all going to overtime, playing 135 minutes of one-possession basketball,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “Our kids compete real hard. We tied a knot at the end of the rope and hoped to hang on.”

The Golden Eagles needed to hang on as Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell got over a sore back and hit three three-pointers in the final 1:21 to get the Pirates (16-11, 7-9) in position to tie the game.

However, his game-tying three-point attempt in the final seconds hit off the backboard, went halfway down and rolled out. Herb Pope put in the rebound with less than a second left.

It was the 13th time this season Marquette was involved in a game that was decided by five points or fewer. Their record is 6-7 in those games, but the Golden Eagles have won the past five.

Marquette beat Cincinnati in OT last weekend and followed that with an overtime win over St. John’s on Wednesday. The only other time the Golden Eagles have played three consecutive overtime games was in 1981-82 (1-2).

The NCAA record for consecutive overtime games is four. Jacksonville went 3-1 in 1981-82, Dayton was 1-3 in 1987-88.

Jeff Robinson had a career-high 25 points for Seton Hall and Jordan Theodore added 18, making all four of his 3-pointers in the second half.