MILWAUKEE -- After putting forth their best effort of the season Tuesday night against Arizona State, the Marquette Golden Eagles made sure they avoided a letdown against an overmatched opponent.
Playing the first regular-season men's basketball game at the Al McGuire Center, Marquette shot a season-high 61.2 percent from the field in an 83-49 rout of Alabama A&M.
The Golden Eagles have won two straight to run their record to 6-4 with two nonconference games remaining before Big East play begins on New Year's Eve at DePaul.
"There was a lot of excitement, and rightfully so, about our win over Arizona State," Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "When you do something well, there's a tendency to let up. I don't think we did that. I thought we handled our business really well tonight."
Marquette came out of the gates slow, scoring two points in the first two minutes, 30 seconds. But the Golden Eagles then rattled off a 10-0 run to grab a 12-2 lead.
A layup by Juan Anderson with 9:49 to play in the first half made it 21-10, and Alabama A&M wouldn't get within 10 points the rest of the night. Marquette took a 40-20 lead into the break, its largest halftime lead of the season.
The Golden Eagles began the second-half on an 11-0 run and led by 30 or more points for the final 15:33.
Marquette finished with 23 assists on 30 made field goals after assisting on 23 of its 28 makes against Arizona State on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles nearly outscored the Bulldogs with their points in the paint alone, as Marquette scored 42 of its 83 in the key.
"I think our team is doing some really good things on the floor," Wojciechowski said. "Our defense continues to improve. We are sharing the basketball at a really high rate -- 23 assists on 30 made field goals.
"I think we're converting turnovers into points much better over the last couple weeks than we did earlier in the season. I like where we are headed, but we're still very much a work in progress."
Marquette has shot over 50 percent in back-to-back games for the first time since December of 2013. It seems as no coincidence that the Golden Eagles have been a much better offensive team in the two games since Luke Fischer became eligible.
Fischer followed up his debut performance of 19 points, nine rebounds and five blocks by scoring a career-high 22 points with six rebounds against Alabama A&M. The 6-foot-11 center has hit 17 of his 19 (89.5 percent) field-goal attempts after going 8 for 8 on Friday.
"With Luke being on the team and playing, it makes all the difference," Anderson said. "Steve (Taylor Jr.) and I can get a little rest. He's 7-foot and changes the whole game -- he alters shots, we can get out in transition a lot faster, a lot better with him on the floor. And then we can throw him the ball. He just changes the whole game, changes our whole team, and I love playing with him."
Averaging just 4.5 points per game since scoring a career-high 20 points at Ohio State on Nov. 18, Taylor finished with 16 points and six rebounds on 7 of 8 shooting in 33 minutes.
The combination of Fischer and Taylor worked well Friday and could be something Wojciechowski opts to use more as the season progresses.
"I thought it was one of Steve's best games," Wojciechowski said. "Steve had a really good week of preparation. I love it when guys invest and then they are rewarded from it.
"I think it also helps Steve that he's not playing center. He's able to play at a more natural position when he's alongside Luke. I think that helps him."
Marquette was unable to play at its usual home arena Friday due to the BMO Harris Bradley Center hosting Cirque du Soleil. The Al McGuire Center opened in 2003 and is home of the women's basketball team.
The men's basketball team played an exhibition game at the on-campus facility against Lewis University in 2004, but Friday marked the first regular-season game at the Al McGuire Center.
"It was a real honor," Wojciechowski said. "The Marquette men's basketball program has such an amazing history and tradition. Obviously, coach McGuire is at the heart of that. To be able to be the first team to play an official game at the Al McGuire Center was a real honor for our team and me. We all are better for being a part of a program like this. To play a good game here for the first time, it means a lot."
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