Without Morsell, another rally falls short
With positive COVID-19 tests and game disruptions rocking every sport, it was probably inevitable the Marquette men’s basketball team would be impacted.
Playing without one its top players due to health and safety protocols, the Golden Eagles mounted another second-half comeback but again couldn’t get the clutch shots to fall in a 78-70 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum.
The Golden Eagles (8-5, 0-2 Big East) found out Monday that they would be without graduate transfer guard Darryl Morsell against the Huskies (10-3, 1-1) due to health and safety protocols. Morsell is the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.8 points per game and its best perimeter defender.
“Darryl’s feeling pretty well,” MU head coach Shaka Smart said. “I talked to him right before the game. The biggest thing is just he’s disappointed he couldn’t be here.
“I went through that last year (at the University of Texas) when I had COVID during the season. Watching your team play on TV is an excruciating feeling as coach. As a player, I would probably say it’s harder because you actually want to be in the game and helping your team.”
Smart is trying to guide his team through these turbulent times in which games are getting called off every day.
“We’re fortunate in that our whole team is vaccinated,” Smart said. “A lot of our guys have gotten a booster. We’ve got a few guys that are not eligible in terms of the six months removed from the vaccination. The guys have done a good job being as safe as we can be, but unfortunately these cases are cropping up.”
Olivier-Maxence Prosper started in Morsell’s spot and delivered his best performance with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting and five rebounds.
“I thought he did a great job getting in the paint,” Smart said. “He had some really, really nice finishes. Defensively, for the most part I thought he did a nice job. Unfortunately, there were some possessions down the stretch where we fouled.”
Justin Lewis scored 20 points, showing his strength in backing down opponents and scoring in the paint.
“He’s really tough to handle down there,” Smart said. “I thought he did a really good job playing with poise when he got around the basket. Had some nice finishes. Got fouled. I’m sure when I watch the tape, probably should have gone down there even more.”
Lewis’ basket with 4:14 remaining cut MU’s deficit to 66-65 after the Golden Eagles had trailed by 11 nine minutes earlier.
It was a carbon copy of MU’s last game in which the Golden Eagles mounted a second-half rally against Xavier but couldn’t knock down big shots after getting within one point.
This time, with Connecticut clinging to a 67-65 lead, center Kur Kuath clanged a wide-open dunk and freshman guard Kam Jones missed a midrange jumper.
“I think for our team a lot of it is guys learning that the only way is to be in a huddle or be in a timeout or be in a freethrow situation and look your teammates in the eyes and believe in each other,” Smart said. “And really, really feel like, hey, we can do this and we can do it together.
“Again, that’s easier when you’ve played together for a little while. And we’re at a bit of a disadvantage with that compared to most teams but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. That you can’t win.”
After that the Huskies pulled away, with Tyrese Martin (25 points) and R.J. Cole (20 points) hitting the sort of clutch baskets that eluded MU.
Martin converted a three-point play for a 70-65 lead and followed that with a tough fadeaway that took the air out of the building.
“That’s what the end of the game is all about,” Connecticut coach Dan Hurley said. “Trying to put your best players in a situation with the ball where they’ve got a little bit of space. Then they’ve got to bring you home.
“Defenses tighten up. Officials, they tend to let a lot of lot of things go ... but you got to have guys, particularly guards, that can win a big, one-on-one matchup in space. And hit the shot, or draw the foul or get to the line or make the three.”
After a break for the holiday, the Golden Eagles finish off a tough, six-game December at St. John’s on Dec. 29.
MU is 1-4 this month and Smart will try to find a way for his team to get over the hump.
“I’m proud of the fact that our guys have gotten better to the point where we’re competing with these types of teams,” Smart said. “At the same time, there’s no real moral victories at this level of basketball.
“And for me as coach, we want to win. And we want to find ways to be a couple possessions better in a game like this. We will be. I can promise you that. It’s just a matter of when. And a matter of how quickly we’re able to get our guys to understand that we can.”