Howard, Hauser lead Marquette past Northern Illinois

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MILWAUKEE -- Markus Howard hit all nine of his free-throw attempts and finished with 26 points and Sam Hauser scored 21, including four 3-pointers, to help Marquette pull away for a 79-70 win over Northern Illinois on Monday night.



Andrew Rowsey added 11 points for Marquette (8-3). The Golden Eagles have won six of their last seven games, including three in a row.

Howard sandwiched two pairs of free throws around a Rowsey 3-pointer to spark an 11-1 run that gave Marquette a 68-56 lead with nearly eight minutes left. Hauser hit a jumper to push the lead to 14 points about five minutes later and Northern Illinois trailed by at least nine the rest of the way.

Eugene German had 26 points and Dante Thorpe scored 14 for Northern Illinois (6-5). German, a sophomore, has scored in double figures every game this season.

Marquette had 10 blocks and nine steals -- including three by Hauser -- and scored 24 points off 18 Huskies turnovers.