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ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Jajuan Johnson had 21 points, Luke Fischer scored 18 and Marquette spoiled Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drews debut with a 95-71 victory in the opening game of the Veterans Classic at the Navy Academy on Friday night.Haanif Cheatham added 15 points and Sam Hauser finished with 14 points for the Golden Eagles, who shot 39 of 74 (53 percent) from the field.I think one of the strengths of our team is our depth, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. We were able to play 11 guys in tonights game. I thought in the second half we were able to wear them down. That was terrific.A 3-pointer by Cheatham capped a 23-4 run and Marquette led 62-44 with10:56 remaining in the game. Vanderbilt struggled to make shots and a jumper by Matthew Fisher-Davis, who had 12 points, ended a more than five-minute scoring drought.The Golden Eagles controlled the run of play the rest of the way. A steal and dunk by Johnson provided a 72-48 lead and set off a celebration on Marquettes bench.I always play to the passing lanes and get to my spot on defense, Johnson said.Drew formerly coached at his alma mater Valparaiso, where he led the program to two NCAA tournaments in five years. However, his new team struggled against the Golden Eagles, who made 13 3-pointers.I thought the first half we did some nice things on the defensive end, Drew said. The second half they came out, hit the two quick 3s on us. We never seemed to get into a rhythm or much momentum after that.The Commodores got their only lead of the game, 40-39, on a baseline jumper by Noah Cressler with 25 seconds left in the half.Luke Kornet led Vanderbilt with 15 points.What it always comes down to is being aggressive and making plays, Kornet said. I think, especially in the second half, we got away from that. We have to grow from this and get better.BIG PICTUREVanderbilt: Kevin Stallings, who left to take the job at Pittsburgh, was the winningest coach in Commodores history. So, Drew will face some pressure to be competitive in his first season. The 7-foot-1 Kornet is already showing he can be a force at both ends of the court.Marquette: The Golden Eagles must fill the void for the loss of Henry Ellenson, one of the programs most highly touted recruits who left after one season for the NBA. Coach Steve Wojciechowski has deep, quick lineup that overwhelmed Vanderbilt.TURNING POINTWojciechowski said he fully expected his team to carry a lead into the half. Instead they trailed by two points. The Golden Eagles simply turned up the pressure and went on a decisive run to put the game away. They hit 3s and we kept them at the free-throw line, Wojciechowski said. Otherwise, I think we would have went into halftime winning.A UNIQUE EXPERIENCEThe teams in the Veterans Classic not only get to play competitive basketball, the players also get a first-hand look at life at the Naval Academy campus and meet with the Midshipmen.This has been an amazing experience, more than anyone could have expected, Marquettes Luke Fischer said. The hospitality has been phenomenal. The things we got to do and see is really something we can treasure for a long time.UP NEXTVanderbilt: The Commodores face a tough test in their home opener Tuesday against cross-town rival Belmont, which is the preseason favorite to win the Ohio Valley Conference.Marquette: The Golden Eagles play their home opener Monday against Howard, whose athleticism should provide a solid test. . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. LONDON -- His pride would never allow him to say it. The internal mechanisms that keep a competitors nature functioning at peak efficiency wont even permit him to think it. But this is the moment Roger Federer has been waiting for.Federer, already the male all-time Grand Slam singles champion with 17 titles, hasnt won a major since the one he claimed here four years ago. He has remained confident that there is at least one more peak triumph laced into the strings of his racket, even though hes ripped through the pages of the calendar and is deep into his 34th year.In life, theres so much more to come, Federer said after he notched another win at Wimbledon on Monday. In tennis, theres not that much more. I hope there is a bit more in tennis. I hope I can win Wimbledon one more time. That would be nice.Say what you will on behalf of the UKs favorite son, Andy Murray. This tournament has become an empty table set to provide Federer fans with another feast. It became so the moment Novak Djokovics designs on a calendar-year Grand Slam were blown to smithereens by the atomic serves of Sam Querrey. It was an abrupt, unexpected shift, like ordering kobe beef and being served lobster.It was a game-changer, because Djokovic has been Federers nemesis. It is Djokovic, the 29-year old Serb, who has denied Federer the title in three Grand Slam finals (two here at Wimbledon) since the Swiss champ last won one. Its been Djokovic whos managed to push Federers foot out of the doorjamb each time hes tried to barge in and reclaim the No. 1 ranking.Meanwhile, Federer has lorded it over everyone else. Granted, Murray has been playing well. But Federer has won their past five meetings. He also handled Murray in the 2012 Wimbledon final and ruined him in straight sets in the semis last year. Djokovic and Federer were a class better than the rest of the field last year. Federer looks like he still may be, despite the assorted struggle that has limited him to 22 matches before Wimbledon began this year.But Federer hasnt spent much of his down time exploring options that lie outside the white lines.I havent done that much, to be quite honest, Federer said. Ive been tired. Ive been resting, watching some football, playing with my kids in the yard, doing treatment, watching tennis. I think its important right now to be in that mindset. My friends, my family, everybody around me did all the Beyonce, Matilda, all the stuff I wanted to do, too, but just not right now. Right now I have other goals.Federer hasnt lost a set at Wimbledon thus far. It hard to gauge his fitness. Theres no question aabout his fidelity or enthusiasm.dddddddddddd. He equaled Martina Navratilovas Grand Slam record with 306 match-wins. In making the quarterfinals here for the 14th time (in 18 tries), he tied Jimmy Connors record.The amazing thing is that Federer acts and talks like none of this is a big deal. Iron man? The way he tells it, Federer dropped straight from the womb into a lifelong tub of butter, racket in hand.I prefer playing matches in front of thousands of people and on legendary courts rather than practicing in front of nobody, he admitted. But even that I take pleasure from as well. I dont feel like I need it necessarily to live, otherwise I feel like Id be in the wrong place, playing for the wrong reasons.Federer has a pile of right reasons now, starting with the most selfish one. He was in a similar situation in 2009, when his clay-court nemesis, Rafael Nadal, was eliminated in the fourth round of the French Open. With the King of Clay out of the way, the pressure suddenly accumulated. The four matches leading to the title were harrowing for Federer. He barely survived a five-set semifinal with big-hitting Juan Martin del Potro but did and went on to win the title.On Wednesday, Federer has a quarterfinal date with big-hitting Marin Cilic, a 27-year old Croatian who won his one and only Grand Slam title in New York two years ago.He brushed me off the court like I was nothing a few years back in the [2014] US Open semis, Federer said in his on-court interview Monday.Federer sounded almost bitter. Familiar and much-loved Reasonable Fed soon reasserted himself.I didnt play poorly in any way, Federer said. It was just all on his [Cilics] racket. It was very seldom that I was blown off the court like that. I had some chances. But every time I had a small chance, either he served another big serve, or on the return, he went for broke.It was unbelievably impressive how he finished that tournament, quarters, semis, finals. I dont think he lost a set. It was unbelievably impressive.Federer has practiced with Cilic here at Wimbledon, probably never really expecting to meet him at such a critical juncture in the tournament. Federer is prepared. His entire life has been about preparation and vigilance. About being ready to seize the moment. Contemplating Cilics big game, Federer said: I know what Im getting into.What hes really getting into is the stretch run of a Grand Slam without Novak Djokovic in his way for the first time in a long time. ' ' '
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