appearances the last three years, but an undersized power forward may be pivotal
to the team matching that success this season.
Lazar Hayward looks to continue his recent strong play as the 24th-ranked
Golden Eagles head to Raleigh to play North
Carolina State on Monday.
Hayward is third on Marquette with 16.9 points per game, and the 6-foot-6
junior is averaging a team-high 9.7 rebounds. He had a career-high 27 points in
helping the Golden Eagles (9-2) bounce back from a loss to No. 16 Tennessee with
a 94-77 victory over Western
Carolina on Friday.
The junior accounted for all the scoring in a 12-4 first-half run that gave
Marquette a 20-point lead en route to a 53-27 halftime advantage.
"Hopefully, I don't jinx it," said Hayward, who has averaged 17.3 points and
10.8 rebounds in his last four games. "But I just think it's me attacking,
playing the right way, my teammates getting me the ball."
Hayward's offensive surge has helped create opportunities for senior guards
Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James. McNeal hit five 3-pointers and
scored 19 points Friday, while Matthews added 18 points and James had six
assists.
"I think 'Zar is a hard guy to guard," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said.
"He becomes a harder guy to guard when our three guards are playing really well.
We've tried to get him more touches in different spots on the floor, and I think
he's getting into a rhythm."
Matthews is averaging a team-high 20.4 points and has taken 106 free throws,
making 90. McNeal is scoring 17.5 points per game and has made 43.6 percent
(24-for-55) from 3-point range, while James is averaging 10.5 points and team
highs of 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals.
Marquette, though, will be facing a North
Carolina State team that
improved to 6-0 at the RBC Center with a 78-58 win over Lipscomb on Saturday.
Brandon Costner scored 13 points for the Wolfpack (7-1), and coach Sidney Lowe
also singled out freshman Julius Mays, who had nine points and seven assists
without a turnover in his first start.
"Julius Mays ran the show and he was able to slow it down when he saw we
didn't have anything," said Lowe, who didn't play Mays in the Wolfpack's win
over East Carolina on Wednesday. "As a freshman, I think he did a great job for
us."
Mays likely will start again as Javi Gonzalez continues to recover from a
lacerated elbow suffered against East
Carolina.
Senior swingman Courtney Fells made his return Saturday after missing the
previous two games with a sprained ankle, going scoreless in six minutes.
"We knew Courtney Fells' timing would be off," Lowe said. "I wanted to get
him in for a couple minutes to help prepare him for Marquette."
The 6-6 Fells is third on the team with 11.3 points per game and is shooting
53.2 percent.
North Carolina State leads
the series 2-1 and beat Marquette 76-64 in the 1974 NCAA title game. The Golden
Eagles got their only victory in the most recent meeting during the 1991-92
season.
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