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Marquette defeated Seton Hall, 67-54, in the nightcap of Big East Tournament first-round action on Wednesday night at the Garden, but the game was as close as one point with less than six minutes to play -- a testament to how the Pirates can conquer a lack of talent with an utter unwillingness to relent.

For example, Seton Hall carries three centers on its roster. Each of the three had exhausted his allotment of fouls by the under-four timeout in the second half. Augustine Okosun, whose three first-half baskets belied his all-defense, no-offense reputation, took a bow when he was called for a block on McNeal with 8:46 to play. John Garcia replaced Okosun and picked up his fifth foul when he hacked a driving Dominic James with seven minutes left. Freshman Mike Davis was the next off the bench, and he picked up his fifth foul when he bumped Lazar Hayward during rebounding action with 3:54 remaining.

Those were just 15 of the 25 fouls that Seton Hall committed in a game that saw 42 whistled and 53 free throws attempted.

"We got in the bonus early, which helped us," said Marquette coach Tom Crean, whose team outscored its opponent by 10 at the line. "We knew we had to attack and get to the rim."

This was a game that also saw 81 missed shots. That's more than two per minute. And that doesn't even count the 23 missed free-throw attempts.

All those misses led to intense scraps on the glass, and that is where Marquette won this game. Despite being one of the smallest teams in the Big East, MU dominated Seton Hall on the backboards for the second straight meeting, outrebounding the Pirates, 56-37, after holding a 14-rebound advantage in the Feb. 12 game in Newark. The 56 rebounds were just three shy of the tournament record set by Connecticut against this same Seton Hall team, although it was the 1996-vintage Pirates.

"We don't have a lot of size, so we have to have a lot of heart and fight to rebound the ball, and we did that. And these two to my left did an outstanding job," added Crean, motioning to the two players joining him at the pressroom podium, Lazar Hayward and Jerel McNeal. The duo combined for 19 boards.

It was as if the two teams looked at each other and saw their reflection return the gaze. You guys can't shoot? Neither can we! You guys have no inside presence? We don't either! You guys like to push the tempo and get after teams with your perimeter defense? That's our deal, too! Forget the shooting percentages and the turnover numbers, let's just see who's tougher.

Yhis was the only way Bobby Gonzalez's Seton Hall team could stay in the game. The Pirates are a bunch of workhorses, not thoroughbreds, a team that needs to turn any matchup with a more talented club into a battle of heart and intensity, rather than one of skill.

"We knew we were going to get a very hungry and spirited team, which we did," said Crean.

Despite overflowing heart from every player in blue, Eugene Harvey was the only Pirate who was able to consistently create offense. He came out of the worst stretch of his basketball life to score 13 points and dish seven assists. But neither of the Seton Hall seniors -- Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter -- was able to hit shots, though since those two accounted for just 15 of the 81 misses, they certainly weren't alone in their shooting struggles.

The problem with Seton Hall's attempt to break the will of its opponent is that Marquette is cut from the same cloth. Anyone who tries to out-tough a team led by McNeal and Dominic James will come away sorely disappointed, and that was the case again on this night. It was James who iced the game with four steals in the final three minutes, including one that led to an easy lay-in for McNeal. Marquette held Seton Hall scoreless over the game's final five minutes and 10 possessions, as the Golden Eagles were the team finally able to defend without reaching or hacking.

"It [is] an incredible experience for our players to see just how challenging this month is," said Crean. "I thought our guys showed incredible maturity. They continued to understand how aggressive the game was, and we continued to be in attack mode."

Another guard, reserve Maurice Acker, was able to come in down the stretch. He knocked down a three and a running lay-in at the shot-clock buzzer, two rare moments of successful shooting that provided a working margin for the victors.

"We just couldn't get over the hump," said Gonzalez. "We played them evenly and outplayed them within parts of the game. When it got down to five minutes, you could see the difference in the depth. They had Maurice Acker come off the bench and stick the huge trey."

MU now must turn around in 24 hours for an entirely different test. Notre Dame couldn't have a more different personality from either of the teams who played in this game, and it will be the battle of personalities that's likely to decide Thursday's quarterfinal contest.

The Irish like to flow on offense, run, shoot and create space. Marquette likes to harass on defense, moving opponents off the spot where they want to go and causing turnovers that lead to points. In the first matchup in Milwaukee, MU was able to impose its will, forcing 24 turnovers and blitzing the Irish for a 92-66 victory. The second time the teams met -- at Notre Dame -- the Irish cut their turnovers to just 13, made some shots to win, 86-83.

Marquette will have to be more efficient on offense to stay with the proficient Irish and advance to its first-ever Big East Tournament semifinal, but that is a challenge to face on another night. On this Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, Seton Hall's challenge was all about toughness, and there's no team that can tough its way through an ugly performance to come out on the other side with a beautiful victory quite like Crean's Golden Eagles.