Wichtig » most highly touted newcomer, had a brutal night in Ne

ATHENS, Ga. -- Coach Steve Wojciechowski challenged Jajaun Johnson at halftime to stop playing timidly and give Marquette a better effort.I got a little mad, and when I get mad I play better, Johnson said. When he got on me, it just clicked.Freshman Sam Hauser scored a career-high 19 points, Johnson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marquette had little trouble beating Georgia 89-79 on Sunday.Markus Howard finished with 15 points as the Golden Eagles (6-2) won their fourth straight game.Yante Maten had 24 points and J.J. Frazier 20 for Georgia (5-3).During a 3-minute, 30-second stretch early in the second half, Johnson hit a 3, had three steals, a tip-in, a dunk, hit two free throws and grabbed a rebound.When he plays with the kind of effort and energy that he did at the start of the second half, he can impact the game in a lot of ways, Wojciechowski said. That was another sign of it to start the second half. He really was all over the place, which was good to see.Stegeman Coliseum, which seats 10,523, was about two-thirds full, a decent-sized crowd for a building thats rarely charged with atmosphere in December.Down by 16 with 14:27 remaining, the Bulldogs made a run to get excited the crowd with seven minutes to go, cutting the lead to two on William Jacksons 3 and two free throws.But Howard hit a 3 at the 4:29 mark put Marquette up by 13 and Georgia never threatened again.Defense, defense, Johnson said. They all came from steals. We knew they were going to make a run. We just had to stay together when it got tough.Marquette hit its first six 3s and eight of its first nine as Duane Wilson made it 25-15 with 11 minutes left in the first half to give the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead.Georgia cut the lead to three before intermission, but coach Mark Fox called time out at the 16:43 mark of the second with the Golden Eagles back again leading by 10.Howards 3 with 15:47 remaining made Marquette 11 of 15 beyond the arc and pushed the lead to 14.Our big lineup couldnt cover them, so we played small most of the day in an effort to try to slow the 3-point shooting, which I dont think we really ever did, Fox said. We didnt do the dirty work to win.BIG PICTUREMarquette: Won despite a rare unproductive game from G Haanif Cheatham, the Golden Eagles third-leading scorer and named last season to the Big East Conferences all-freshman team. Making his 41st straight start in 41 career games, Cheatham missed six of his first eight shots (1 for 7) and picked up his fourth foul with 16:06 remaining. He finished with two points in 25 minutes.Hes played really well for us, Wojciechowski said. That happens over the course of the season. Other guys stepped up, which was great.Georgia: Had its 24th consecutive game in double-digit scoring from Maten, but the Bulldogs are too reliant for him and Frazier on offense. Nobody else averages close to double digits. Fox has yet to find a way to replace the productivity of departed seniors Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines, who combined to average 24.1 points last season.The Bulldogs are looking for other players to step up if theyre going to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season. Poor defense isnt helping either.We have some serious areas to work on, Fox said. Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann were terrific defenders. We havent replaced the defense that walked out of here with a degree. Thats disappointing to lose a game because you dont defend like we need to.UP NEXTMarquette: Host to Fresno State on Tuesday.Georgia: Host to Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 14.Stan Smith Soldes . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Basket Stan Smith Pas Cher . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.basketstansmithpascher.fr/ . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Destockage Basket Stan Smith . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Stan Smith Pas Cher Solde . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota.EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Coach Tom Izzo believes his team learns more from a loss to a ranked opponent than an easy win against a lightweight.Perhaps so, but Michigan State needs to start collecting victories.The No. 13 Spartans lost a buzzer-beater to No. 10 Arizona in the Armed Forces Classic at Honolulu, Hawaii on Friday, then got dismantled by No. 2 Kentucky 69-48 in the Champions Classic at New Yorks Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.The level of opposition drops considerably on Friday when the Spartans (0-2) face winless Mississippi Valley State at the Breslin Center. The Delta Devils have lost their first three games by an average of 34 points.Izzo isnt surprised his team is winless at this stage, considering that freshmen are playing prominent roles.Teams are beating (opponents) by 30 and getting a false feeling of where they are really at, Izzo told media outlets. I told my guys, Youre gonna get exposed. But we look at two-thirds of that (Kentucky) game and say, OK, we played pretty good. We took a couple of punches in the mouth and hung in there.Michigan States defense was not the issue against the Wildcats. It held Kentucky to 38.3 percent shooting but couldnt get into any flow with its half-court offense. The Spartans shot 32.8 percent from the field, made just five of 26 3-point tries, missed six of nine free throws and committed 20 turnovers. Kentucky turned those giveaways into 24 points, while Michigan State scored only four fast-break points.Were a little tired. Were a little worn out, Izzo said of the cross-country travel. Weve got to get back to the drawing board as ccoaches and do a better job with the execution.ddddddddddddwingman Miles Bridges, the Spartans most highly touted newcomer, had a brutal night in New York. He scored six points on 2-for-11 shooting and committed nine turnovers.Izzo believes Bridges will benefit in the long run from that experience.Miles Bridges is one of the most coachable great players, Izzo told the Detroit News. He still competed, didnt hang his head -- but he did struggle and got his butt kicked. But good players self-evaluate and get better from it, where if he scored 30 points against Sisters of the Poor, it wouldnt have mattered.Bridges is still the only Spartan averaging double figures at 13.5 points per game.Senior guard Eron Harris, the Spartans top returning scorer, needs to rediscover his offensive touch after being a non-factor the first two games. Hes averaging nearly as many turnovers (3.5) as points (4.5).Mississippi Valley State, a Southwestern Athletic Conference club, has offered little resistance in its three losses. The Delta Devils fell to another Big Ten team, Northwestern, in its opener 94-63. They were subsequently blown out by West Virginia 107-66 and Kent State 93-63.Senior guard Marcus Romain is the teams leading scorer at 12.7 points per game. Romain averaged 18.6 points last season. Senior guard Isaac Williams is the only other player averaging double digits at 10.3.Mississippi Valley State lost its first 14 games last season and finished with an 8-27 record. ' ' '