Matt Carlino scored 26 points and Derrick Wilson had a career-high 14 assists as the Marquette Golden Eagles trounced the Seton Hall Pirates in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Carlino shot 8-of-12 from 3-point range for ninth-seeded Marquette (13-18), which advanced to face top-seeded and third-ranked Villanova on Thursday afternoon. Luke Fischer added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds to go with four blocks.
Meanwhile, this loss likely signaled the end of a disappointing season for eighth-seeded Seton Hall (16-15), which sat at 12-2 after a huge win against Villanova on Jan. 3 but had its season totally unravel thereafter. Isaiah Whitehead (12 points, five assists, four rebounds, four blocks) was the lone standout for the Pirates.
Marquette jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led 29-12 late in the period before settling for a 35-22 lead at intermission. The key stretch of the first half was a 14-2 run that turned a 15-10 lead into a commanding advantage, with Carlino making a pair of 3s during the decisive run.
Carlino finished with three 3-pointers in the first half while Duane Wilson added a pair as the Golden Eagles shot 56 percent from the field and made half of their 12 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. The Pirates scored five early points in the second half but then went nearly seven minutes without a bucket as the lead swelled to 55-30.
Notes: Wilson scored 13 points and Steve Taylor Jr. pitched in 10 for Marquette, which notched back-to-back victories for the first time since the calendar turned to 2015. … Carlino has scored at least 20 points three times in the five games he has played since returning from a concussion. … Seton Hall G Sterling Gibbs, the team’s leading scorer, shot 1-of-8 en route to six points.
