After losing for the first time this season to the Purdue Boilermakers two days ago, the Marquette men’s basketball team bounced back on its home court Thursday night defeating the Long Island Sharks 95-58 at Fiserv Forum.
Junior forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored a career-high 31 points as the Golden Eagles remained undefeated as home.
Here’s a breakdown of Thursday night hoops action from Fiserv Forum:
Game MVP:
Prosper was efficient on the night shooting as he missed just one field goal shot and one free-throw attempt. The 6-foot-8 forward hit all three of his 3-point attempts on his way to 31-points, including 18 in the second half.
“Coming in after a tough loss at Purdue I was just trying to come back here (Fiserv Forum) and respond, that was my mindset. I was just trying to go there, be myself, (and) honestly, I was aggressive today,” Prosper said. “But I just came in and just wanting to respond and get a big win for our team and get us on the right track and that starts with winning.”
Head coach Shaka Smart said that he has seen the growth in Prosper’s three point shooting since arriving at Marquette.
“I think is balanced is much, much better than it was even a year ago and he deserves incredible credit for that work,” Smart said. “The work he’s put in the weight room, the work he’s put in with extra skill work does a lot of specific balance stuff with coach (Deandre) Haynes, where that’s really all they’re working on and drives and it’s paying off for him.”
Key Stats:
- Marquette scored 26 points on the 23 turnovers committed by Long Island.
- The Golden Eagles were out-rebounded for the first time this season, as the Sharks led the margin 42-40.
- Marquette was able to shoot 50% from the field, while holding Long Island to just 31% shooting.
Notes:
- Marquette forced nine turnovers in the first half, five of which came off of steals.
- The Golden Eagles had 24 deflections in the first half, while also holding the Sharks to just 27% shooting from the field.
- Despite shooting 1-for-8 from the 3-point line, sophomore guard Kam Jones still finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
- Jones and junior forward Oso Ighodaro were each a +29 in the game.
- Marquette starts 3-0 at home for the second season in a row under Smart.
- Sophomore forward David Joplin scored in double figures for the third game in a row, collecting 12 points while also grabbing six rebounds.
Quote of the Day:
Immediately after the game, Smart relayed to his team what he thought the most dangerous word in sports is.
“The word should is the most dangerous word in sports because it gets a lot of people, a lot of players, a lot of coaches, lot of teams in trouble. (You) should do this, you should win should dominate, you shouldn’t do this,” Smart said. “Reality is you got to make it happen. Nothing on paper, or that anyone writes or tweets or posts is gonna make it happen for you. I liked the way that our guys approached the game tonight. I liked the way that they helped each other.”
Next Up:
Marquette (3-1) will now travel down to Ft. Myers, Florida for the Rocket Mortgage Tip-Off beginning with Mississippi State Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGrossMU.
