Golden Eagles end home stand unbeaten after lopsided affair
The non-conference portion of the college basketball season can produce incredible games between teams that otherwise rarely play one another. It also results in some lopsided contests, ones in which the talent and skill disparity between the two teams can be difficult to comprehend.
It became clear in the opening few minutes when Western Carolina committed four turnovers on the first five possessions that Wednesday night’s contest between Marquette and the Catamounts at the BMO Harris Bradley Center would fall into the latter category.
The Golden Eagles (5-2) dominated the Catamounts (2-5) from the opening tip to the final buzzer on the way to a 90-44 victory.
Marquette fell just short of the program’s first three-game stretch of scoring 100-plus points in con-
secutive games but finished the three-game home stand unbeaten nonetheless.
Redshirt junior Andrew Rowsey led the scoring, pouring in 21 points off the bench — with 20 coming in the second half — on 7-for-11 shooting. As a team, Marquette went 55.2% from the field and drained 13 three-pointers, just two behind the program record of 15.
Buoyed by 10 steals and 8-for-11 shooting from three-point range, Marquette built a 56-18 lead over the first 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles shared the ball effectively to methodically pick apart Western Carolina’s defense, recording 13 assists on 21 baskets in the first half on the way
to 72.4% shooting from the field and a 56-18 lead at the break.
“I thought, first of all, our guys really came to play and they played an outstanding first half,” head coach Steve Wojciechowski said.
Freshman point guard Markus Howard led the scoring in the first half, recording 14 of his 17 points while making 4 three-pointers on six attempts. He also finished with four assists and a pair of steals.
“We’re definitely a team that can stretch the court with our shooting ability,” Howard said. “I think our depth really opens the floor for everyone else to get shots. When one’s hitting, another one’s open. Tonight was just my night and we’re going to have those all over the season.”
Senior center Luke Fischer chipped in 13 of his 15 points before halftime then sat for the majority
of the second half. Senior Jajuan Johnson scored eight in the first few minutes and finished with 13 to go along with four assists and two steals.
On the defensive end, Marquette didn’t play to the score and made things difficult for Western Carolina for the duration of the game.
The Catamounts, who entered the game with one of the most turnoverprone and inefficient offenses in the country, didn’t get any opportunities to turn things around against the Golden Eagles. Marquette’s defenders lived in the passing lanes, forcing 19 turnovers, including 14 steals, while holding Western Carolina to 28.0% shooting for the game.
“I know, obviously, people are going to point to the shooting numbers which were really good in the first half, but I thought our activity defensively — we got a ton of deflections — and I thought we really gave a solid effort on the defensive end of the floor,” Wojciechowski said.
The victory put an end to one of the less challenging portions of Marquette’s non-conference slate, but starting Sunday the Golden Eagles will run into arguably their most difficult three-game stretch of the non-conference season. They will play their first true road game at Georgia on Sunday followed by home games against Fresno State on Tuesday and Wisconsin on Dec. 10.
“It’s a huge stretch for us and it’s good to get guys some rest,” Wojciechowski said. “It’s good to get other guys some minutes maybe where they can get some confidence or whatnot. So, all in all, I thought it was a good night.”