Marquette 75, IUPUI 71 (OT)
Team Leaders:
Points: Henry Ellenson (18)
Rebounds: Luke Fischer (10)
Assists: Duane Wilson and Henry Ellenson (3)
Traci Carter struggling
At one point in the second half, Carter threw a line-drive pass straight to Luke Fischer’s face. The Marquette center was triple-teamed and at the very top of the paint, but Carter caught a break as a Jaguars defender fouled. That move still summed up Carter’s play the first two games of the season: erratic, dangerous and ill-advised.
Carter turned the ball over three times and failed to be a threat scoring the ball. He was unable to erase the memories of his final play against Belmont, when he lost control of the ball on a drive in the last minute. Right now he has no chance of stealing the starting point guard role from Haanif Cheatham, who has shown excellent ball control while driving the paint.
“Haanif, with nine second half points, he made some big plays,” Wojciechowski said. “He hadn’t played point guard his whole life. We’re throwing a lot at him, and I thought today he made some real winning plays for us.”
3-Point Woes
The Golden Eagles look like they would have trouble throwing a basketball into Lake Michigan from McKinley Beach. Spearheaded by Duane Wilson and his combined 1-for-14 shooting from long range to open the season, the Golden Eagles are shooting a horrid 20.9 percent (9-for-43) from three over their first two games.
On Monday, Marquette shot 1-of-6 in the first half, then went 2-of-11 in the second half and overtime to finish at 17.6 percent for the game. Henry Ellenson, who was projected to be the team’s top three-point shooter, is just 2-for-9 (22 percent) to start the season. Sandy Cohen is the only player with any consistency from distance, going 4-for-8 to start the season.
“We’re getting great looks, we just have to knock them down,” Cohen said.
Down the Duane
Marquette’s oldest guard hasn’t looked like the player he was last season. Adding to his three-point shooting woes, he turned the ball over five times Monday, the most of anyone on the team. This is all despite Wilson moving to his more natural shooting guard position this season.
He made up for his play in the final seconds of overtime, making an and-one layup and hitting the ensuing free throw to make it a two-score game.
No Sophomore Slump for Sandy Cohen
Marquette’s most reliable player on both ends of the floor has undoubtedly been Cohen. The sophomore from Seymour is averaging a steady 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, but his play goes beyond the stat sheet. Cohen’s strength when driving to the hoop and defending his opposite small forward is noticeable, as is his increase in confidence. He went 4-for-10 in 40 minutes of action Monday, and also had the key block on an IUPUI game-winner attempt to ensure overtime.
“I don’t try to force anything,” Cohen said. “My team has confidence in me and I have confidence in myself.”
Big man still on the bench
Wally Ellenson got his first game action as a Golden Eagle, making Matt Heldt the only scholarship player that has yet to see the floor. Wojciechowski said he plans to use him, but it is difficult to take out either Luke Fischer or Henry Ellenson, two of the team’s best players this season.
“It’s very difficult to take Luke out of a game,” Wojciechowski said. “Matt’s going to be a really good player. He knows the process that he’s got to follow. He’ll have his opportunities.”
Wojciechowski said he should get more playing time once the team finishes what he described as the tough stretch to open the season.
