Fullerton, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Davante Gardner netted 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help move No. 25 Marquette into the championship of the Wooden Legacy with a 76-60 triumph over George Washington on Friday.
Jake Thomas tallied 13 points and Derrick Wilson added 11 points, four assists and four boards for the Golden Eagles (5-2), who will take on San Diego State in Sunday's title game.
"We just had to come out and play Marquette basketball," Gardner said. "We couldn't go out there and worry about George Washington and what they do, we just had to come out and play hard like we always do."
Kethan Savage led the Colonials (5-1) with 16 points, while Maurice Creek managed 14 points on 2-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in George Washington's first loss of the season.
The Golden Eagles led from start to finish, with Thomas tallying the final seven points in a 17-4 game-opening surge that put Marquette firmly in front.
A Todd Mayo 3-pointer pushed the margin to 20 late in the frame before Gardner's layup with under 10 seconds left sent the Golden Eagles into the break holding a comfortable 46-25 advantage.
"We are disappointed with our performance today, especially in the first half," George Washington head coach Mike Lonergan said. "Give all credit to Marquette. They played harder and obviously they were tougher, and did a great job."
George Washington opened the second half on a 9-1 spurt that Creek capped with a triple to make it 47-34, but a Wilson three-point play followed by a Gardner layup near the midpoint of the frame found the margin back up to 19.
The Colonials never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Game Notes
It was the first-ever meeting between these schools ... George Washington will play Creighton in a consolation game on Sunday ... Marquette shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including an 8-of-15 mark from 3-point range ... GWU finished 4-of-19 from beyond the arc.
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