LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When Jae Crowder pulled up for a 3-pointer in transition with his team holding a 3-point lead late in its NCAA Tournament game against Murray State, he didn’t have a great track record from deep.
In fact, the Big East Player of the Year had made just 3 of his previous 19 from beyond the arc at that point.
But Crowder has a short memory and he let it fly anyway.
The ball went through the net and Marquette pulled ahead by six points, quieting the heavily pro-Murray State crowd that included a mixture of yellow-clad Racers’ fans and blue-clad Kentucky faithful.
The No. 3 Golden Eagles held on and advanced past No. 6 Murray State, 62-53, to advance to a Sweet 16 matchup against the Florida/Norfolk State winner. Murray State (31-2) lost for just the second time all season.
“At that point, I wasn’t thinking,” said Crowder, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. “I was just trying to make the next big play. I have a short memory. I knew I was struggling from the the 3-point line up until that point. So I just want to have a short memory and make the next big play, whether it be on the offensive or defensive end.”
Crowder and Davante Gardner each scored six points during a 14-2 run that turned a 46-41 deficit into a 55-48 lead.
“I knew that was a big one,” Crowder said of the 3-pointer. “We had came down with Davante on the roll I think. When I made that I knew that might be the breaker.”
Crowder, who beat out West Virginia’s Kevin Jones for league Player of the Year honors, said he and his teammates were motivated by the extremely hostile environment.
“It was definitely a road game,” Crowder said. “I never played in an NCAA road game, and it was a first for me. And I think more sure of them going off of it, we went off of it, too.
“We had a little juice behind us because we wanted to prove to every fan in there that we can play, and I think it helped us.”
A year ago when Marquette lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16 in Newark, Crowder and teammate Darius Johnson Odom (17 points) were juniors.
Now they are the leaders of the team and feel even more responsibility.
“It’s a much different approach and you have a much different feel afterwards,” Crowder said. “But I think this one was a much tougher game for us.”
Through to the second week of the tournament Crowder has no intentions of finishing his run anytime soon, either.
“Oh, you’re trying to win it,” Crowder said. “At this point in time, you don’t want to just [be] satisfied because you’re here again. You want to win it.
“Last year we peed down our leg. We didn’t do what we had to do. But we will have a much better approach to the game this year.
“We want to win it and we feel like we can.”
Video: Courtesy Paint Touches
