Jan. 1, 2011

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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- In hindsight, Jae Crowder acknowledges he was nervous about his move to Marquette.

Despite all his success at the junior college level, Crowder knew he'd face much better competition and higher expectations in the Big East.

Crowder left no doubts about his ability on Saturday, scoring a season-high 29 points and grabbing eight rebounds as Marquette beat suddenly struggling West Virginia 79-74. It was exactly the kind of performance Crowder envisioned when he made the jump.

"Of course," Crowder said. "Everybody does. And that's what the expectation was for me coming into the game, coming into the season. They were very high at times, very stressful at times but it helps you keep working."

Just about everything was working for Crowder, who shot 12 for 14 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also had five assists and four steals.

"We made him a star, didn't we?" West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said.

Darius Johnson-Odom added 21 points for the Golden Eagles (10-4, 1-0 Big East), hitting several key shots in a second-half surge. Marquette was coming off a tough one-point loss at Vanderbilt.

Darryl Bryant scored 25 to lead West Virginia (8-4, 0-2), who began conference play with a surprising home loss to St. John's. Kevin Jones had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Mountaineers.

"They just scored every time they needed to score," Bryant said. "Every time we needed a stop, we didn't get it."

Huggins wasn't happy with the way his team defended Johnson-Odom down the stretch _ "Everybody else knew he was going to shoot it," Huggins said _ but he seemed even more concerned about rebounding.

Marquette outrebounded West Virginia 34-24.

"We're not very athletic, to be honest with you," Huggins said.

Johnson-Odom took over in the final eight minutes of the game, but Bryant scored on a fast-break layup to give West Virginia a 74-73 lead with 1:44 left. Chris Otule's putback slam dunk then gave Marquette a one-point lead and the Golden Eagles held the Mountaineers scoreless the rest of the way.

After four losses, all by five points or fewer, Marquette coach Buzz Williams hopes his team is learning how to win close games.

"To be able to get one, I think it's great," Williams said. "But would we have got this one if we wouldn't have learned from what had transpired prior to (today)? I don't know. I think it's just part of the growth."

Jimmy Butler recovered from a slow offensive start to score 10 points and grab seven rebounds for Marquette. The Golden Eagles had the edge at the foul line, hitting 14-of-21 free throws while West Virginia shot only seven and made them all.

But most of the attention went to Crowder, the junior college player of the year at Howard College last season.

"I said about seven weeks ago he would end up being the heart and soul of our team," Williams said. "Because he's such an instinctive player, and his heart is that of a champion."

Crowder has been solid in the non-conference portion of Marquette's schedule, but he saved his biggest performance for the Golden Eagles' first Big East game.

"I know what I can do, and I know my teammates believe in me," Crowder said. "I've just got to get the job done."

Casey Mitchell said Crowder hurt the Mountaineers.

"He scored in every way _ lay-ups, threes, two-pointers, a shot off the backboard and it went in," Mitchell said. "He was hitting everything."

Marquette came out with more energy for the unorthodox 10 a.m. New Year's Day tip-off. With fans in Marquette's student section still trying to wake up, the Golden Eagles held the Mountaineers scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the game, forcing five early turnovers and taking a 9-0 lead.

Going into the game, Williams told his players that the team that wakes up the best will play the best. His players arrived at the arena for a shootaround before 6 a.m.

"They came out and hit us first, and they were the aggressors in the beginning," Jones said. "And they kind of had us on our heels until we settled down."

West Virginia recovered to shoot 48.3 percent from the field for the half, including 6 for 12 from 3-point range, and went into halftime trailing 37-34.