Tuesday’s win over Loyola Maryland was the Markus Howard show in his final home opener, as the senior guard totaled 38 points to surpass Jerel McNeal as Marquette’s all-time leading scorer with 1,993 points.
“Markus has, in three years and a half a semester, created an incredible legacy at Marquette,” head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “For him to be the all-time leading scorer at this program with all the greats that have played here after his first game in his senior year is just mind-boggling.”
Prior to Tuesday night’s game, Howard needed 30 points to tie McNeal’s 1,985-point record.
“It wasn’t something I had in mind,” Howard said. “Guys like Greg (Elliott) and (Sacar Anim) were telling me, ‘You’re getting close, you’re getting close.’ … I was playing pretty free just because my teammates were believing in me that much.”
Howard said he’s developed a relationship with McNeal during his time at Marquette.
“He’s come to be like a big brother to me in terms of guidance,” Howard said. “He’s been such a great help to me for my development. To be in a conversation with him is just a blessing and honor in itself.”
Howard is 211 points away from becoming the Marquette basketball all-time leading scorer. Class of 2019 women’s basketball graduate Allazia Blockton currently holds the record with 2,204 points.
Wojciechowski said Howard’s legacy at Marquette will extend past his scoring ability.
“He’s an outstanding student, he’s engaged in the community, he uses his platform to make our community better and he represents himself on the basketball court as a player in the finest possible manner,” Wojciechowski said.
Meanwhile, Marquette had no problem defeating the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 88-53 Tuesday night.
In the first seven minutes of play, Howard had 19 of MU’s 21 points, including five 3-pointers.
“When he gets going, I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone that can be a one-man wrecking crew like he can offensively,” Wojciechowski said. “His ability to make difficult shots is beyond what I’ve ever seen.”
Aside from Howard, Anim and redshirt junior Koby McEwen were the only other players to score in double figures.
“Our guys were really anxious,” Wojciechowski said. “When you’re anxious offensively, you can try to force things that are not there and you can put yourself in bad positions.”
By the end of the first, Howard totaled 30 points, including shooting 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. That was twice as many points as Loyola Maryland scored as a team. He almost had 31 in the first half, but he missed a free throw that would’ve passed McNeal’s record.
“I thought he had a shot (passing McNeal) if he would’ve made the darn free throw,” Wojciechowski said jokingly. “He needs to work on his free throws more apparently.”
The Golden Eagles held the Greyhounds to 16% shooting from the floor in the first half, which is the lowest in the Wojciechowski era.
Junior forward Theo John shined on the defensive end, recording a career-high eight blocks and adding eight rebounds.
“Theo’s got a chance to be a defensive player of the year in our league,” Wojciechowski said. “Nationally, I don’t think there’s anybody that protects the rim better than he does.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Howard said. “I’m glad he’s on our team and I’m not playing against him.”
Similar to last season, the Golden Eagles struggled with ball-handling, giving up 21 turnovers.
“Obviously not happy with that,” Wojciechowski said. “We’re not a team that’s going to win with 21 turnovers. … The other guys who are (in) new roles, turnovers aren’t acceptable, but you can expect them. With Markus and Sacar and Koby, they had 11 of our 21 turnovers. ”
Marquette was sloppy defensively during the second half, allowing Loyola Maryland to score 38 points and go on a 10-0 scoring run.
“We let up a little bit and that’s something we have to get better at,” Howard said.
Wojciechowski said the biggest lesson to learn from the home opener is to play a full 40 minutes.
“I don’t think our guys maintained the intensity for the second half that we brought to the first half,” Wojciechowski said.
Marquette (1-0) will next take on the No. 23 Purdue Boilermakers Nov. 13 at Fiserv Forum as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.
Glenn • Nov 7, 2019 at 5:01 pm
Good job, Zoe … excellent, comprehensive story.