BOISE, Idaho — Lazar Hayward scored Marquette's first and last points.

He had plenty of big plays in between, too, scoring 26 to lead the Golden Eagles to a 58-57 win over Utah State in the first round of the West Regional.

Hayward, who was averaging 16 points, scored Marquette's first 10 points and was almost perfect from the foul line as the Golden Eagles held off the Aggies.

"He's a big-time player and I still don't think he gets enough credit," said Wesley Matthews, who had 11 points for Marquette. "If you want to play off of Lazar that's fine. We'll just pass it to him all the time."

The Golden Eagles blew a 14-point lead, then overcame a 49-43 deficit. Hayward spurred the comeback, muscling for key baskets and rebounds and drawing a couple of big fouls.

Hayward and Matthews both shot 5-for-6 from the foul line, where the Golden Eagles (25-9) ended up winning the game. Marquette hit 14 of 17 free throws in the second half, making 10 straight during a late stretch that put the Golden Eagles back up for good.

"For us to have a chance, we definitely have to get to the free-throw line," said Marquette coach Buzz Williams, who made his NCAA Tournament debut.

Jerel McNeal added 14 points for sixth-seeded Marquette, which will play Missouri in the second round.

Hayward, whose free throw with six seconds left gave Marquette a 58-54 lead, also tied for the team lead with eight rebounds. Marquette led by as much as 14 in the first half with a quick pace the 11th-seeded Aggies (30-5) couldn't match.

The Golden Eagles stumbled early in the second half and ended up trailing by six, then regrouped at the end. Once Marquette got the Western Athletic Conference champion Aggies in foul trouble, the Golden Eagles sealed it from the foul line.

Marquette made 19 of 23 free throws. Utah State shot just eight foul shots — two of which the Aggies missed as they were knocked out in the opening round in their fourth straight tournament appearance.

"We battled back in the second half and really gave ourselves a chance to win," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "I thought Marquette did a really great job getting to the free-throw line and that was probably the difference."

Jared Quayle led Utah State with 18 points.

MISSOURI 78, CORNELL 59

BOISE, Idaho — Leo Lyons had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and DeMarre Carroll, the coach's nephew, scored all but two of his 13 points in the second half to help the third-seeded Tigers (29-6) pull away from the Big Red (21-10).

Ryan Wittman led the Ivy League champions with 18 points and by controlling the pace, Cornell found itself trailing by only four at the half. But Mizzou's talent took over after the break.

"I thought the second half was typical of our basketball team all year long," said coach Mike Anderson, a longtime assistant of Nolan Richardson's in Arkansas when "40 Minutes of Hell" was a college hoops catchphrase.

SOUTH REGIONAL

SYRACUSE 59, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 44

MIAMI — Jonny Flynn scored 16 points, Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku each added 12 and the third-seeded Orange (27-9) cruised past the NCAA first-timer Lumberjacks (24-8) for their first NCAA tournament win in five years.

"This is what you play for," Flynn said. "You don't come into the season saying you're playing for the Big East championship. You're playing for the NCAA championship."

Syracuse ran out to a 20-4 lead, never letting the Southland Conference champions and 14th seed get anything going. The Lumberjacks missed 12 of their first 13 shots.

ARIZONA STATE 66, TEMPLE 57

MIAMI — James Harden, the team's scoring leader, made only one field goal, a 3-pointer with 4:02 left, helping the sixth-seeded Sun Devils (25-9) hold off the Owls (22-12), who were eliminated in the opening round for the second year in a row

Harden went 1-for-8 and was held to nine points, less than half his average. Junior Derek Glasser scored a career-high 22 points and Jeff Pendergraph also had 22 for the Sun Devils, playing in the tournament for the first time since 2003.

"It was one of those games where my shot wasn't falling," said Harden, the Pac-10 player of the year. "My teammates picked it up, definitely — Derek throughout the entire game."