Marquette's Duane Wilson passes around Grambling State's Remond Brown on Wednesday. Credit: Associated Press

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Everyone in the Marquette basketball program knew that eventually the three-pointers would fall.

The Golden Eagles ranked 336th in the country in three-point percentage entering Wednesday night, shooting 26.5% from distance in the small sample size of their first six games. Coaches and players agreed that number wasn't representative of the shooting prowess the team has shown in practice.

The three-pointers that had been catching iron, rimming out and caroming off the backboard in previous games instead ripped the twines in Wednesday night's 95-49 win over Grambling State at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. After missing their first four tries from deep, the Golden Eagles connected on 13 of 17 triples, including junior Jajuan Johnson going 4 for 4.

"It's always good to make shots," MU head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "Even more than that was the way we played offense. I thought our guys played incredibly unselfish. We had 34 made field goals and 30 assists. I'm not sure I've ever seen that and I've been around some really good passing and shooting teams."

For Johnson, who scored a team-high 20 points, the hot shooting night offered some validation after he spent a good portion of his summer working on his three-point shot. Always dangerous when attacking the paint, Johnson was a 21.2% three-point shooter in his first two seasons at Marquette. His poor outside shooting allowed defenders to sink off him, clogging up driving lanes.

Even after the summer of tinkering with his shot to create a more fluid motion, he had been 2 for 12 entering Wednesday's game. He tried to block that from his mind, instead focusing on what he could do to change his fortunes.

"I was thinking about the last couple games and I've been shooting like weak shots," Johnson said. "This game I was shooting strong shots. I was getting my legs up under me and I was jumping a little higher on the shots."

Johnson's strong effort came after a difficult weekend. His grandfather died last week, and he left Milwaukee on Friday to travel to Alabama to be with his family. He didn't return until Sunday morning, the day of Marquette's game against Jackson State.

"It was just good being back home and seeing my family," Johnson said. "We knew it was happening, so it wasn't really me being down. With the family everybody was good. It was good just to be around the family for a minute."

Johnson knew when he returned to Milwaukee he wasn't going to play much because he had missed practice. He recognized he might not have his legs underneath him and understood why he only played seven minutes.

On Wednesday, though, he was fully prepared and ready to contribute in a big way.

"I think he responded," Wojciechowski said. "He's had a lot going on, and those things affect you. For him to respond, I think he's worked very hard and he prepared well for this game. A lot of times when guys prepare well for a game, they're not always rewarded, but more times than not they are."

Johnson's big numbers were some of many put up by Marquette against Grambling State, the team ranked last in the country by KenPom.com. The Golden Eagles charged out of the gate, holding the Tigers scoreless until the 13:08 mark, by which time they had already built a double-digit advantage.

Four of Johnson's teammates joined him scoring in double figures, marking the third time in seven games that that has happened. Last season, it happened twice. Henry Ellenson chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds, Luke Fischer added 14 points, Duane Wilson scored 11 and Sandy Cohen rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

Point guard Traci Carter was also in double figures, but in a different stat category. The freshman dished out a career-high 10 assists in his fourth consecutive start. He also had two points, six rebounds and just two turnovers.

"Traci, since he's been in the starting lineup he has 29 assists and seven turnovers," Wojciechowski said. "He's changed our team, he's our best post passer, he's our most natural point guard and he's made really good, simple decisions. As a result everybody is better because he's played well. Traci's been a huge piece to the puzzle as we have gotten better and are still figuring out who we need to be."