After an eight-day layoff following Marquette’s defeat at Wisconsin on Dec. 12, the men’s basketball team added another weak non-conference victim to its resume with a 91-74 victory over Chicago State.
Marquette was led once again by freshman forward Henry Ellenson, who finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in a team-high 31 minutes. Despite notching his sixth double-double of the season, the Rice Lake native appeared to be out of control at times and finished 6-of-16 from the floor.
Redshirt sophomore guard Duane Wilson turned in his best performance of the season with 18 points and six assists. He was 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. The Golden Eagles were a monstrous plus-38 during Wilson’s 29 minutes of floor time.
The Golden Eagles got out to a rough start, falling behind 11-4 in the first three minutes of the game. Freshmen guards Traci Carter and Haanif Cheatham had trouble penetrating the Cougars’ zone defense, which resulted in a handful of turnovers. However, the team composed itself and started finding Ellenson and redshirt junior Luke Fischer in the paint. Fischer contributed 14 points and eight rebounds on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting. Marquette’s size advantage was prevalent throughout; the Golden Eagles won the rebound battle 42 to 28.
There were six Golden Eagles with double-figure scoring, but the Cougars still lingered throughout the game due to Marquette’s 16 turnovers. The team remains in the bottom-50 in Division I in turnovers per game after another sloppy performance against a low-level opponent.
Marquette will have another six-day break to celebrate Christmas before the team’s final non-conference game against Presbyterian Sunday at 1 p.m.
