Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
‘Audacity’ key in Marquette upset
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MARQUETTE 67, NO. 10 ILLINOIS 66
MILWAUKEE — Tyler Kolek didn’t know if he’d be healthy enough to play Monday.
He ended up delivering the biggest play of the night to give Coach Shaka Smart his first signature victory at Marquette. Kolek converted a steal into a go-ahead layup with 18 seconds left and Marquette forced 26 turnovers for a 67-66 comeback victory over No. 10 Illinois.
Kolek’s big play came just three nights after he hurt a muscle above his knee while colliding with two New Hampshire players on a drive into the lane.
“After that game the other night, I couldn’t really straighten my leg,” said Kolek, who credited director of sports medicine Brandon Yoder for getting him ready to play. “I couldn’t really even walk.”
Illinois (2-1) was playing without Associated Press preseason All-America center Kofi Cockburn, who was completing his three-game suspension to start the season. The NCAA handed down the penalty because the 7-footer sold apparel and memorabilia before the new name, image and likeness state legislation went into effect.
Illinois had a 12-point lead with under 10 1/2 minutes left in the game before crumbling down the stretch.
“You’re not going to win a basketball game on the road against a good basketball team turning the ball over 26 times, not really getting a good look the last five minutes because we didn’t execute,” Illinois Coach Brad Underwood said.
Marquette (3-0) found a way to win despite going 3 of 9 from the free-throw line down the stretch and getting outrebounded 50-30.
Smart said he uses a theme to prepare his team for each game, and his choice Monday night was appropriate: audacity.
“Not a lot of people outside our locker room gave us much of a chance to win this game, playing against a top 10 team,” Smart said. “But the guys believed and the guys stayed together.”
Illinois was clinging to a 66-65 lead when Kolek stole the ball from Trent Frazier at midcourt, maintained his balance and made a layup despite getting fouled. Kolek was immediately congratulated by Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton, who was in attendance.
Kolek missed the ensuing free throw, but Kur Kuath stole the ball from Illinois guard Andre Curbelo with three seconds left to thwart any last-second shot.
“We missed a lot of free throws, missed a lot of shots that we usually make or that we work on a lot,” said Marquette’s Darryl Morsell, who scored a game-high 21 points. “But our theme of the week was just audacity, and I just liked how we had the audacity to stay confident and find a way to get that win today.”
Justin Lewis had 17 points and Kolek added 12.
For the Illini, Frazier had 23 points, including 6 of 10 3-pointers, while Coleman Hawkins scored 13 points, Curbelo 11 and Jacob Grandison 10.
The two teams were facing off for the first time since December 1993 as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, a series matching Big East programs against Big Ten schools.
This also marked the first time Illinois played a true road game at a site without reduced capacity since March 2020. Underwood said he believed the Fiserv Forum crowd made a difference.
“Huge, big factor,” Underwood said. “It was good for our guys. We’ve got some guys in some new roles. … It was a fantastic crowd. It’s a loud building.”
NO. 1 GONZAGA 84, ALCORN STATE 57
SPOKANE, Wash. — Julian Strawther scored 18 points in top-ranked Gonzaga’s dominating 84-57 win over Alcorn State extending the nation’s longest home-winning streak to 54 games.
Freshman Hunter Sallis added 16 points for Gonzaga (3-0), which was coming off a decisive win over then-No. 5 Texas on Saturday.
Chet Holmgren had 11 points and Drew Timme 10 for the Bulldogs, who shot 59% to Alcorn State’s 40%. Gonzaga scored 54 points in the paint.
Keondre Montgomery scored 13 points for Alcorn State (0-4), which was no match for the taller Bulldogs. Justin Thomas added 10.
Gonzaga has been ranked No. 1 for 19 consecutive weeks, the fifth-longest streak in AP rankings history.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 89, NICHOLLS STATE 60
WACO, Texas — LJ Cryer had a career-high 20 points to lead five players scoring in double figures for Baylor, which overwhelmed Nicholls State in a rare midday game.
Freshman Kendall Brown had 13 points and 10 assists for the Bears (2-0), who had 33 assists on their 37 made baskets. Jeremy Sochan, another freshman, had 14 points, while returning guards Adam Flagler and Matthew Mayer had 12 each.
Cryer finished with 7-of-9 shooting and made five of Baylor’s 13 3-pointers.
Ty Gordon had 20 points for the defending Southland Conference champion Colonels (3-1). Latrell Jones had 11 points.
NO. 19 OHIO STATE 89, BOWLING GREEN 58
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Five players scored in double figures for Ohio State in its victory over Bowling Green.
The Buckeyes ( 3- 0) started pouring it on early and never allowed the Mid-American Conference squad to get close.
E. J. Liddell and Meechie Johnson each scored 13 points. Zed Key had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Eugene Brown III had a career-high 12.
Chandler Turner led the Falcons (1-2) with 12 points, and Samari Curtis and Joe Reese each had 11 points.
SEC LSU 74, LIBERTY 58
BATON ROUGE — Darius Days scored 26 points and LSU pulled away in the second half to win its third straight, knocking off Liberty.
Liberty led for the final 7:22 of the first half and held a 26-25 lead at intermission. Day hit a three-pointer to start the second half to put LSU in front, but the Flames took the lead again on back-toback three-pointers from Brody Peebles.
Brandon Murray hit a three to put the Tigers in front for good at 53-52 and spark a 24-6 run to close the game out.
Days hit 5 of 10 from three- point range and collected three steals for LSU (3-0). Efton Reid added 13 points and Xavier Pinson added 10 points and dished seven assists while Eric Gaines added 10 points and collected five steals.
Darius McGhee led Liberty (1-1) with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Peebles hit 3 of 5 from long range and finished with 12 points.
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY 80, MISSOURI 66
Evan Gilyard II and Marvin Nesbitt Jr. combined to score 48 points and Missouri-Kansas City upset in-state rival Missouri for the second straight time, beating the Tigers.
Missouri- Kansas City won its first game against a Power Five member since beating Mississippi State in 2015 and third-year MKC Coach Billy Donlon’s first win over a Power Five opponent. Coming into the game the Roos had lost 15 straight games to Power Five teams. The Roos beat Missouri in their last meeting, 69-61 on Nov. 14, 2014.
The Roos grabbed the lead less than four minutes into the game on a layup by Nesbitt and never relinquished it, knocking down 11 of 23 shots from long range and 28 of 55 from the field (50.9%).
Gilyard knocked down 6 of 8 from three-point range and 10 of 15 overall to score 28 points to lead Kansas City (1-2). Nesbitt added 20 points, dished four assists and collected three steals.
Missouri-Kansas City entered after back-to-back losses to Minnesota and Iowa of the Big Ten.
The Tigers committed 18 turnovers, was outrebounded 32-30, and shot 24 of 51 from the field, but just 4 of 14 from distance. Kobe Brown had 20 points to lead Missouri (1-1). Ronnie DeGray III added 14 points off the bench.
SUN BELT MEN ARKANSAS STATE 90, CENTRAL BAPTIST COLLEGE 63
The Red Wolves overpowered the Mustangs despite leading by eight points at halftime, outscoring the visitors 52-33 over the final 20 minutes at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro on Monday night.
ASU (2-1) shot 65.6 percent from the field in the second half, getting 10 points apiece from Desi Sills and Norchad Omier.
For the game, Omier led the Red Wolves with 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting with 6 rebounds, but it was an overall balanced effort — nine ASU players had at least five points and nine finished with at least three rebounds.
Kelvin Robinson and Mayan Kiir spearheaded CBC (0-5) with 16 points each, accounting for more than half of the Mustangs’ offense.