Steve Wojciechowski
Eight days between games usually means some rust and that was the case for the Marquette Golden Eagles on Monday night.
The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start but still managed to pull out a 91-74 win over Chicago State (4-10) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Golden Eagles (9-2) even sputtered a bit in the second half as they were outscored 41-35 after halftime. They may have been lulled into that second half performance after closing the first half on a 24-5 run and leading 56-33 at the intermission.
Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski liked the contribution he got from his bench, but he also thought they lost some of the urgency they had in building that halftime lead.
Freshman forward Henry Ellenson finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season.
The Golden Eagles get a few days off for Christmas before returning to host Presbyterian on Sunday in their final non-conference tune-up before the start of Big East Conference play.