SPORTS
Badgers victorious over St. John’s, 80-70
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Friday, March 15, 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Wisconsin’s balanced scoring attack resulted in five Badgers reaching double figures and an 80-70 victory over St. John’s University in today’s first round NCAA Tournament game in Washington, D.C. Junior guard Kirk Penney scored a team-high 19 points, followed by Freddie Owens who contributed 18. This is the first time in Wisconsin’s NCAA tournament history that five players reached double-figures. St. John’s Marcus Hatten scored a game-high 28 points off 12-33 shooting from the field.
The Badgers are now 14-0 when at least four players reach double figures. In addition to Penney and Owens, Devin Harris earned 14 points, while Mike Wilkinson and Charlie Wills each contributed 10. Travon Davis followed with nine points of his own.
The Badgers entered the second half with a seven-point lead, and the Red Storm was never able to come back. Wisconsin increased their lead to 11 points (46-35) after Freddie Owens capitalized on a Dave Mader steal, taking the ball in for a lay-up at 16:13.
St. John’s made it a two-point game at 12:30 when a foul by Travon Davis allowed Eric King to capitalize on two free throws, cutting Wisconsin’s lead to 48-46. Wisconsin then went on a 13-4 run ending with a trey by Davis, putting the Badgers up 61-50 with under eight minutes to play.
Wilkinson’s 10 first-half points led the Badgers through a back-and-forth 20 minutes. St. John’s was the first to score off a free throw by Anthony Glover, and the lead changed 11 times after that. The Badgers’ first points came off a three from Harris a little over one minute into the game.
The Red Storm averages 40 percent shooting from the field, but they were much more accurate in the first half, making 12 of 24. Wisconsin was finally able to gain some momentum with about five minutes left in the first. Charlie Wills hit the mark with a three at 4:46, beginning a 12-0 Badger run.
The Badgers reached their largest lead of the half (38-28) after Harris made a lay-up with 16 seconds remaining. The Red Storm answered back with a three by Glover at the buzzer, giving Wisconsin a seven-point lead to take into the locker room.
With the win the Badgers earned a spot in Sunday’s match-up with No. 1 seed Maryland. Tip-off will be around 4 p.m. CST.
