There were some empty seats in the corners of the upper level -- it's not clear whether we should blame deer hunting or the economy for those - but the crowd of 15,168 got to see a pretty entertaining display as Marquette defeated UW-Milwaukee, 100-80, Saturday night at the Bradley Center.
Wesley Matthews and Lazar Hayward each scored 25 points and Jerel McNeal scored 22 for the Golden Eagles (3-0), who blew open a close game with a 10-0 run early in the second half.
Marquette became the 50th team in the NCAA to record its 1,400th victory.
After a solid first half, the Panthers (3-2), who got 23 points from Tone Boyle, fell victim to shaky shot selection and foul trouble in the second.
"We hit a stretch there where we got disjointed," Panthers coach Rob Jeter said. "We shot 50 percent in the first half, and I thought we were together. The second half, we started to play a little too much as individuals.
"Fundamentally, we had some errors. As soon as we can master some of those basics of sharing the ball a little more and passing up a good shot for a great shot, we can be a little more dangerous as a team."
Jeter coached the game a little more than 48 hours after the death of his father, Bob, a Pro Bowl defensive back for the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s and is a member of the Packers Hall of Fame.
"I appreciate all of the text messages and e-mails that I've received," Jeter said. "I know that my father touched a lot of people and did things the right way."
The Golden Eagles honored Bob Jeter's memory with a moment of silence before the game
"You've got to stay focused," Jeter said. "It is part of life. It sounds harsh to say. We live and when it's time for you to go, it's that time. It's what you do on those moments in between (that counts). I feel real proud to be a son and proud of my father for how he lived those moments in between."
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.