New York, NY -- (Sports Network) - Jerel McNeal scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as 25th-ranked Marquette dominated the closing minutes for a 67-54 win over Seton Hall in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Lazar Hayward contributed 15 points and 10 boards for the Golden Eagles (23-8), who will play third-seeded Notre Dame in the quarterfinals Thursday night. Dominic James added 11 points and four steals as Marquette won despite a wretched shooting night that saw the Golden Eagles shoot 34.4 percent from the floor and make just 20-of-35 free throws.

"Tonight was one of those nights. I was getting open looks," McNeal said.

Marquette controlled the paint for the entire game, outrebounding Seton Hall 56-37. The Golden Eagles also grabbed more offensive boards (25) than the Pirates controlled on the defensive glass (24).

Jamar Nutter and Eugene Harvey scored 13 points apiece to lead 11th-seeded Seton Hall (17-15), but Jeremy Hazell was the only other Pirate to reach double figures with 10 points. Seton Hall also struggled mightily from the floor, shooting 33.9 percent and making just 4-of-20 three-pointers.

"We just couldn't get over the hump," Seton Hall Bobby Gonzalez said. "We played them even and even 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 a huge trey."

McNeal's acrobatic layup pushed the lead to 54-51 with 6:19 to go, but Harvey answered with one of his own for a one point margin with just under six minutes to play. Maurice Acker countered with a three, giving the Golden Eagles a 57-53 advantage with 5:34 to go.

After a Nutter free throw, McNeal found Hayward underneath the basket for an easy layup, pushing the Marquette advantage back to five, 59-54, with 5:04 remaining.

The Pirates, who were outrebounded on both ends of the court for the entire game, were put at a disadvantage down the stretch after their three biggest low post threats; John Garcia, Augustine Okosun and Mike Davis had all fouled out with nearly four minutes left.

Hayward made 1-of-2 at the line to extend the lead to six, then Acker drained a jumper for a 62-54 lead with 2:34 left. A free throw from James and a layup from Matthews extended the run to 11-1 and pushed the Marquette lead to 65-54.

Hayward knocked down two more from the charity stripe with 48.4 ticks on the clock, and after a James steal, Marquette dribbled out the clock after closing the game with a 13-1 burst that included keeping Seton Hall off the board for the final 5:14 of the game.

The teams played a back-and-forth first 20 minutes, but, trailing 29-28 with just under two minutes left, Marquette scored the final six points of the session to take a 34-29 halftime advantage.

A three from Nutter cut the deficit to 34-32 less than 10 seconds into the second half, but the Golden Eagles didn't let the Pirates get any closer before stretching the lead back to five, 41-36 on Hayward's jumper with 3:11 gone.

The teams continued to trade buckets for the next several minutes, with Marquette holding a 48-45 advantage after Nutter made 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 9:45 to play.

Each team continued to provide an answer for the other's scoring, but the Pirates finally crawled within a single point, 52-51, on a pair of free throws from Harvey with just over 7 1/2 minutes on the clock.

Game Notes:

The Pirates didn't convert a field goal for the game's final 5:59...Marquette and Notre Dame split the season series; Marquette won, 92-66, in Milwaukee January 12, and the Fighting Irish picked up an 86-83 win in South Bend February 9...The Pirates were held to 29.6 percent shooting (8-of-27) after halftime.