Portage County Gazette

Sam Hauser

Former Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) standout Sam Hauser became the 50th player in Marquette University men’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points during a win over Seton Hall at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee Saturday, Jan. 12.

The junior guard/forward was at 999 career points with 3:40 left in the second half and the score tied 60-60, when he knocked down a free throw to give the Golden Eagles a 61-60 lead.

Sam hit the next free throw to increase the lead to 62-60, while his younger brother, redshirt freshman forward Joey Hauser, scored on a layup with 48.6 seconds remaining to give Marquette a 66-63 lead.

Joey added a free throw with 27 seconds to play to keep the Golden Eagles ahead 67-65, while Marquette maintained a 68-66 lead with three seconds left, when Seton Hall missed the second of its two free-throw attempts intentionally.

Sam grabbed the rebound with 1.2 seconds left and went on to hit the next two free throws to seal the 70-66 victory for Marquette, as he finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists to cap a big week for the junior.

Down 85-82 with 0.8 seconds left at Creighton Wednesday, Jan. 9, in Omaha, Neb., Sam caught an inbound pass and knocked down a deep, off-balance three-pointer over two defenders at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied at 85-85.

Marquette went on to win 106-104 as junior guard Marcus Howard set a BIG EAST record with 53 points for the Golden Eagles, while Sam finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Joey totaled 13 points and five rebounds, after he was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the second time this season Jan. 7.

Joey Hauser

Marquette (15-3, 4-1) moved up to No. 13 in this week’s Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the AP Poll, then played at Georgetown Tuesday, Jan. 15.

Howard, the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, left with a back injury three minutes into the game and didn’t return.

Sam went on to score a career-high 31 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Joey totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes, as Marquette won 74-71.

The game was tied 70-70 when Sam knocked down a jumper with 1:06 left to give the Golden Eagles a 72-70 lead, while Marquette held on to a 72-71 advantage in the closing seconds, when sophomore forward Theo John blocked a shot with four seconds to play.

Sam grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.7 seconds remaining, then sank a pair of free throws to surpass his previous career high of 30 points and close out the 74-71 win over Georgetown for Marquette, which is scheduled to host Providence (11-6, 1-3) at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, and DePaul (10-5, 2-2) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23.