NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Travis Diener scored 20 points and dished out 12 assists to lead Marquette to an 82-68 victory over Conference USA rival Tulane Saturday.
Diener led Marquette (13-1, 1-0 Conference USA) on an 18-2 spurt to put the Golden Eagles on top 57-44 with 17:58 remaining. He ignited the run with a 3-pointer and then added four assists.
Dameon Mason scored 17 points with eight rebounds. Ryan Amoroso added a career-best 18 points while Steve Novak scored 13.
Marcus Kinzer led Tulane (6-7, 0-2) with a career-high 20 points and added six rebounds. Taylor Rochestie had 17 points and Quincy Davis finished with 12.
Tulane took a 38-31 lead into the half after Rochestie drilled a halfcourt runner at the buzzer. The Green Wave shot 59.3 percent from the field in the half while holding the Golden Eagles to 34.3 percent.
But the Golden Eagles took over in the second half. Marquette drilled 65.5 percent of its shots and Tulane could only convert 31.3 percent from the field.
