LAHAINA, Hawaii - Marquette defended and hustled its way into the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Jerel McNeal had 20 points and Dominic James added 18 to lead the 11th-ranked Golden Eagles in a never-in-doubt 91-61 semifinal victory over Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.

Marquette's Dominic James, gets a shot against Oklahoma State in the second half of a second round game in the EA Sports Maui Invitational basketball tournament in Lahaina, Hawaii, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007. James scores 18 as Marquette defeated Oklahoma State 91-61. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Marquette (4-0) will play the winner of the game between No. 13 Duke and Illinois for the title on Wednesday night.

It didn't look like the same Marquette team that opened the tournament with a 74-63 victory over Chaminade, the Division II host school. The Golden Eagles didn't give themselves some breathing room in the opener until a defense-keyed 11-2 run that started with six minutes to play.

That run came right away against the Cowboys.

The Golden Eagles opened the game with a 13-2 spurt over the first four minutes. The Cowboys just didn't look ready for the intense defense Marquette threw at them. The Golden Eagles had hands reaching and swiping everywhere as they contested each pass as well as each shot.

Oklahoma State missed six of its first seven shots and turned the ball over four times in the opening burst and it stayed that way throughout the first half as Marquette took a 46-28 lead.

The Cowboys were 1-for-11 from 3-point range in the opening half and 10 of Marquette's 22 rebounds were on the offensive end.

Wesley Matthews added 13 points for Marquette, which played three guards, and sometimes four, a move that certainly helped their defensive intensity.

Terrel Harris had 17 points and freshman James Anderson added 14 for the Cowboys (2-2).

The Golden Eagles shot 52.6 percent for the game (30-for-57) and they finished with a 43-28 rebound advantage.

The Cowboys shot 39 percent overall (23-for-59, but were just 4-for-23 from 3-point range.

Marquette opened the second half with a 9-0 run for a 27-point lead. The run started with a three-point play by Matthews on an offensive rebound and was capped by a 3 by James after an Oklahoma State turnover.

The lead got to 33 points twice, the last time at 86-53 on a fast-break dunk by Lazar Hayward with 4:15 to play.

Oklahoma State had a 21-point lead with 15 minutes to play in its opener and held on for an 83-77 win over LSU. The Cowboys couldn't come up with a comeback of their own against Marquette.