By: TBT Staff | @thetournament

It was a struggle through three quarters, but the Golden Eagles finally sent their cheering section home happy and with a semi-final game to attend on Sunday. Jamil Wilson scored eight points as part of a 20-7 run that broke open a three-point game and sent the Marquette University alumni squad to a 79-62 victory over the Jackson TN Underdawgs. Wilson connected on nine of his 16 field goals in the win for the Golden Eagles, who advance to the semi-finals for the second straight summer.

“I’m just a gamer,” said Wilson. “My team knows that. They just put me in positions.” Dwight Buycks added 16 points in the win for the Golden Eagles, who made six of seven field goals late in the second half to put the game away. Coach Joe Chapman knew that this game was never going to be easy. “We knew that they were going to come out and play hard,” said Chapman of the Underdawgs, who were never seriously challenged in winning the Memphis Regional. ‘We scouted them. We knew they were going to rebound. We just had to match their intensity. We didn’t do it at the beginning, but we figured out what we needed to do.” Ten different Golden Eagles scored to held the squad advance to the semi-finals, providing Chapman a great deal of confidence heading into Sunday. “This is our deepest team,” said Chapman. “We’re playing together. When you have a deep team, you’ve got to buy into your role.”